Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying

Houston Chronicle

Sept. 26 editorial, "Why aren’t parents for gun reform heard like those for book bans?"

A number of Uvalde parents have channeled their anguish into political activism. They have mustered a dearly won resolve to do what they can to make sure that other parents in this gun-besotted nation don’t have to experience the pain they are enduring. Some admit they’ve never voted, but for the first time ever, they’re lobbying, they’re protesting, they’re speaking out in Austin and Washington. Two are running for local office; another founded a group called Fierce Madres .

Their aim is to persuade Gov. Greg Abbott and other elected officials in Austin and Washington to support sensible gun-safety legislation, including raising the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 from 18 to 21. We applaud their determination and resolve.

The Uvalde parents aren’t the only Texas parents lobbying, protesting and speaking out these days. In communities large and small across the state, parents are raising objections to books available to their children in classrooms and libraries. From Katy to Leander, Granbury to Llano, Tyler to Victoria, they’re pushing to get books removed from library shelves. Waving the banner of parental rights, they’re primarily targeting books that treat gay and lesbian themes, books they consider too explicit sexually, books that address this nation’s knotty history of racial discord or books they consider unpatriotic.

The Uvalde parents struggle to get the attention of elected officials in thrall to the National Rifle Association — the majority in this state — but the parents concerned about library books are getting results. Thanks to their efforts, Banned Book Week, sponsored by the American Library Association, ended with Texas leading the nation . It’s our dubious distinction to ban more books this year than any other state.

— Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

San Antonio Express-News

Sept. 25 editorial, "Hispanics remain drawn out of power in Texas."

In his Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “The Lone Star State’s rich heritage stands as a veritable tapestry of remarkable individuals and vibrant cultures. Its history is a storied saga whose heroes hail from lands near and far.”

Abbott also described our state’s “rich heritage, vibrant culture, and manifold contributions of the Hispanic-American community.” He encouraged all Texans to “celebrate the legacy and influence of Hispanic Texans,” and he asked that “we embrace the diversity of the state while reinforcing the bonds that unite us as Texans and as Americans.”

He urged “appropriate recognition.”

We have no problem with his words, but we urge the governor and all elected officials to do better with their actions.

There’s no question Hispanic Texans historically suffer disparities politically and economically. This is a state whose population grew by 4 million people, of which about 3.8 million were people of color, according to the 2020 U.S. census. But new congressional and state districts don’t reflect this diversity. In fact, these redrawn political maps brazenly weaken the impact of the Hispanic vote.

Racial inequities — also reflected in census data — persist. Hispanic Texans are disproportionately low-income. Hispanic Texans are more than twice as likely as white Texans to live below the poverty level. Although 14.2 percent of Texans overall are considered poor, 19.4 percent of Hispanic residents live below the poverty level, compared with just 8.4 percent of white residents, according to the Texas Tribune. It’s been shown one’s ZIP code can determine one’s destiny.

— San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board

Dallas Morning News

Sept. 27 editorial, "Dallas felony judges finally offer a plan to resolve case backlog."

The (Dallas) county jail population has skyrocketed from about 5,000 inmates three years ago to more than 6,200 this summer. The jail can house up to 7,100 people, but it is stressed with the current population.

In their latest correspondence to the Commissioners Court, 14 felony judges rightly point out that they alone do not control who stays in jail. It would be unfair to blame them exclusively for the jump in the jail population, as hundreds of inmates are waiting on state or federal officials to transfer them to a psychiatric hospital, prison or immigration detention.

But one cannot overlook that Dallas County is sitting on a backlog of 20,000 pending and active felony cases, a whopping number that means many people who cannot make bail are waiting in jail for their cases to go to trial or be resolved some other way.

The most noteworthy item in the judges’ letter is a bullet point that states they are developing a judicial management plan that would “place time constraints on bringing a case to disposition.” For example, the judges wrote, a plan could require that a felony case, once indicted, have no more than 12 settings, say, unless issues arise with DNA testing. A judge would then be required to dispose of the case through trial or a plea, and the attorneys would know from the outset how much time they had to build the prosecution or defense.

It’s also worth pointing out that a major problem for the county is the number of inmates sitting in jail whose felony cases police officers haven’t yet filed with prosecutors, who then decide whether to accept or reject the cases. Three years ago, the average number of inmates waiting for a felony case to be filed was 350. Today, it’s almost 1,000.

— Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Sept. 29 editorial, "Here's one Texas crisis you won't hear enough about in Abbott-O'Rourke governor debate."

If you tune into the Texas governor debate Friday night, you'll hear Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke talk about important issues: immigration and border security, abortion, property taxes and the power grid.

What you probably won't hear is a substantive back-and-forth on the issue that should be akin to a four-alarm fire in our state, and that's education. Sure, Abbott will mention school choice, and O'Rourke might argue he'll do more for teachers. They could spar over books in libraries or topics in history class.

But detailed answers about how to fix the achievement problem — the huge numbers of Texas students who can't read, write or do math on the appropriate grade level — won't get enough attention. The pandemic made a long-standing problem into a full-blown crisis.

We get it, to a degree: It's not a sexy political topic. Everyone agrees education is vital and it often seems like the system hums along steadily enough.

For all our state pride and money pouring into the system — the state spends about $60 billion on public schools, with tens of billions more in local property taxes and federal funds — Texas lags nationwide.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board

Abilene Reporter News

Sept. 24 editorial, "Last-minute protest of Pride parade, activities shows true colors of opposition."

At Thursday's Abilene City Council, some of the same folks who challenged the city about what's in the library and helped get rid of one book only they checked out, took issue with Abilene's first Pride parade.

Their comments, frankly, were unbelievable. Maybe scary.

On the eve of the event, which was to include a parade downtown and activities to follow at Nelson Park, the group took issue with something that was set for 2021. The parade and events planned for downtown last September were called off because COVID concerns lingered.

"This isn't the first time that the parade has tried to happen. This is like the third time. And so now we're starting to see momentum," a speaker said.

Yet, in the 12 months since the last parade "tried to happen," no one raised any concerns until news of the event was announced by the media.

Librarygate gave way to Paradegate.

— Abilene Reporter-News

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying