Politics and views in the United States.

Connecticut creates new rules for gun sales, Texas redistricting maps face pushback over minority representation, Nebraska advocates press Congress for immigration reform and ICE officers expand their role in Washington, D.C. crime enforcement.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

They need to have a reasonable cause to believe the person is either at a risk of using the firearm to harm themselves or to make sure their reasonable controls are designed to prevent the sale.

Stacey Mayer with Connecticut Against Gun Violence says a new state law holds gun makers and sellers accountable and open to lawsuits if they fail to prevent illegal or risky sales.

One amendment groups object, but supporters say Connecticut is building on reforms since Sandy Hook, with a move intended to stop straw purchases, trafficking and sales to prohibited buyers.

In spite of Washington, D.C.'s violent crime being at a 30-year low, the Trump administration is continuing a crackdown there.

Borders Czar, Tom Homan says, deploying immigration officers in the nation's capital removes some criminals and deters others.

"I just saw an officer with a train and police taxis too."

The move comes as former Vice President Mike Pence is voicing support for Trump's taking control of D.C. law enforcement and several GOP-led states sending National Guard troops.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling another special legislative session to finish redistricting.

Democrats who stalemated the first session by breaking quorum now look likely to return to Austin.

President Donald Trump asked state Republicans to add five seats in the midterms, and Abbott says the new districts comply with court rulings.

But Tania Chavez with La Unión del Pueblo Entero says they're designed to dilute the power of Latino, Black and Asian voters.

The proposed map disrupts minority representation in K-12 South Texas and Central Texas.

And the ballot board would be triplet.

And the proposed map appears to have one goal, and that is to change the district just enough to force out the representative chosen by Latino voters.

Community groups in Nebraska are urging Congress to modernize decades-old immigration laws, by passaging long-stalled legislation creating a path to citizenship for Dreamers, migrants brought to the country as children.

Darcy Tromanhauser with Nebraska Appleseeds says that's better for families and local economies than sudden deportations.

We need better ways to transition from temporary to permanent status for neighbors, friends, family members who've been part of local communities for 20, 30 or more years who don't have a way to apply for residency. - Michigan state regulators may see tens of thousands of public comments on a plan by Canadian energy company Enbridge to replace part of a pipeline by tunneling under the Straits of Mackinac.

Native Americans and environmentalists say it's time to stop pumping the half a million gallons of crude a day through the 70 year old line, where a leak could devastate drinking water, fisheries, tourism, and shipping.

Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing a sweeping anti-poverty plan.

The ASAP Act would expand cash benefits, tax credits, and create state-funded baby bonds for children in deep poverty with the goal of cutting hardship in half in 10 years.

I'm Farah Siddiqui for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.