Why ‘Good Guys with Guns’ Don’t Make Us Safer

Right-to-Carry Laws Increase Firearm Theft and Reduce Police Effectiveness—Which Leads to More Violent Crime

In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court ushered in a new era of gun regulation when it struck down New York’s century-old concealed carry law. The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen decision paved the way for the right to carry a concealed firearm in public to become the law of the land.

Debates around right-to-carry pit the argument that a “good guy with a gun” can prevent crimes against concerns about an increased threat of gun violence, with research generally supporting the latter. Many policymakers …

by Samuel Cai | November 6, 2023

Illustration of a brown man's face sideways. One side of his face is a brown silhouette of a city skyscraper landscape, and the landscape has tree-like roots.

What Does Brown Mean?

In a World That Often Feels Black and White, I’ve Learned to Embrace My Space in the Middle

by Christopher Rivas | October 19, 2023

Zócalo is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of …

Is It Time for Californians to Vote in Florida and Texas?

People Need Representation Not Just Where They Live—But Also Where They Have Interests

by Joe Mathews | July 19, 2022

Should Floridians get to vote in California elections? Should Californians get to cast ballots in Florida?

These questions might seem strange, but they’re not. Gov. Gavin Newsom broadcast his first re-election …

The Bridges My Father Built

A Lifelong Educator, He Left Behind Many Legacies—Including a Suspension Bridge and a Bust of JFK I Spent Years Trying to Find

by Cindy Wenig with Cari Lynn | June 16, 2022

In the 1960s, my father’s crowning achievement was building, entirely by hand, a 60-foot steel suspension bridge over the lake at Camp Pontiac, the summer camp his family owned in …

What the Jewish Name Changing Narrative Gets Wrong

A Forgotten History of Antisemitic Exclusion and Isolation in Mid-20th Century New York

by Kirsten Fermaglich | September 17, 2020

In 1932, a man named Max Greenberger petitioned the City Court of the City of New York to change his last name and the last name of two of his …

The Legendary New York Saloonkeeper Who Was the Real-Life Inspiration for Star Trek’s Guinan | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Legendary Saloonkeeper Who Was the Real-Life Inspiration for Star Trek’s Guinan

Whoopi Goldberg’s Character Was Based on Texas Guinan, a Larger-Than-Life Texas Girl Turned Power Player in Prohibition-Era New York

by Carol Stabile | April 9, 2020

In an emotional scene, earlier this year actor Patrick Stewart stopped by “The View” to ask co-host Whoopi Goldberg to join the cast of “Star Trek: Picard” for its second …

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