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This Week In Commentary

The best opinion pieces of the week: a wide range of perspectives and ideas from across the States Newsroom network.

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High suicide and bullying rates plague Oklahoma. Maybe our own actions are to blame.

Commentary on anti-bullying protections, the state delegation in Alabama, a replacement for Menendez in New Jersey, minimum wage for drivers in Minnesota, Trump supporters in Ohio, anti-trans legislation and sexual predators in Louisiana, gun violence legislation in Colorado, and school voucher program in Georgia.

Beware the twists of ‘transparency’ during Sunshine Week

Commentary on Sunshine Week in Louisiana, public records law in New Jersey, Katie Britt in Alabama, open records law in Oklahoma, state primaries in Tennessee, the GOP supermajority in West Virginia, the state legislature in Florida, and the state budget in Virginia.

Oklahoma Republicans condemning LGBTQ hate speech is nice. But prove you actually mean it.

Commentary on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in Oklahoma, anti-abortion extremism in Kansas, the 2024 legislative session in West Virginia, women's rights in Florida, public records law in New Jersey, Super Tuesday in Minnesota, the 2024 general election in Wisconsin, state legislation in Alabama.

Nursing home residents’ cries are falling on deaf ears in the Capitol

Commentary on nursing homes in Iowa, anti-trans bills in Kansas, curbing human trafficking in Virginia, voting maps in Wisconsin, IVF policy in Alabama, disenfranchised voters in Idaho, constitutional comprehension in Tennessee, health leadership in Louisiana.

Contraception limits are foolhardy. Let’s not turn it into the next anti-abortion battleground.

Commentary in contraception limits in Oklahoma, Black history in Alabama, the immigration crisis in Arkansas, gun legislation in Kansas, Governor Jeff Landry's criminal justice policy in Louisiana, Eric Hovde's political campaign in Wisconsin, Donald Trump and Joe Biden's candidacy for the 2024 general election in Montana, and Republican lawmakers in Indiana.

Who earned the title of Donald Trump’s most special boy in the GOP governor’s debate?

Commentary on the GOP governor's race in West Virginia, public corruption in Ohio, tax cuts in Oklahoma, Mike Gallagher's departure in Wisconsin, transparency rules in Colorado, incarceration in Kentucky, gambling tax in Nevada, the Senate Committee in Alabama.

Border crisis hypocrisy and what’s missing from the immigration debate

Commentary on the border crisis in Wisconsin, the Ten Commandments statue at the State Capitol in Oklahoma, United Daughters of the Confederacy’s tax breaks in Virginia, Supreme Court Justices in Colorado, the Women Bill of Rights in West Virginia, the bipartisan immigration deal in Ohio, the automotive industry in Alabama, and Capitol security in Louisiana. 

Governor’s bill draft would put sex changes on Iowa driver’s licenses, birth certificates

Commentary on transgender law in Iowa, carcinogens in Louisiana, the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama, the status of journalism in Kansas, book bans in West Virginia, maternal care in Arkansas, the GOP supermajority in Kentucky, and freedom of press in New Jersey.

Gerrymandered Ohio Republican lawmakers: afflicting the afflicted and comforting the comfortable

Commentary on gerrymandering Republicans in Ohio, minimum wage in Kentucky, the state legislative session in Louisiana, the State of the State Address in South Dakota and Utah, wage theft in Minnesota, abortion rights in New Jersey, and the postpartum depression pill in Virginia.

‘For God’s sakes-a-livin” — A closer look at Gov. Justice’s final State of the State address

Commentary on the State of State Address in West Virginia, the 2024 primaries in New Hampshire, school systems in Alabama, the No Labels forum in Tennessee, GOP Senate leadership in Nevada, voting concepts in Ohio, gun legislation in Virginia, and Indigenous tribes in South Dakota.

OMG not DEI

Commentary on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Kentucky, Speaker of the House Don Scott in Virginia, anti-trans policy in Ohio, the Democratic National Committee in New Hampshire, the state of journalism in Montana, Trump's absence from the 2024 presidential ballot in Nevada, the J6 prosecution in Georgia, and 2024 state legislation in Louisiana.

Pornography, political correctness and campus free speech

Commentary on the firing of UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow in Wisconsin, climate change in Montana, the LGBTQ+ community in Ohio, Trump's 2024 presidential bid in Indiana, tax cuts for the rich in Michigan, the Department of Education in Oklahoma, state budget in Kentucky, and J6 acknowledgement in Nevada.