The Supreme Court began its new term today with a list of some of the most consequential cases to dominate every corner of American life, from gun laws to treatment for gender dysphoria to access to online pornography. Here are the big cases that the justices will hear over the next few weeks.
Self-Assembly Ghost Guns
Garland v. VanDerStok — a lawsuit attempting to block a recent Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule targeting the sale of ghost guns — untraceable weapons repurposed from parts purchased online. The argument will then dictate whether the kits need to be considered as firearms, with buyers subjected to federal gun law such as background checks and registration.
As of April 2022, the ATF redefined gun to be kitted-up, but can then be repurposed into a weapon, that would have to be treated like fully assembled guns. Handgun sellers prevailed against the regulation in a federal appeals court, and the Biden government now appeals the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Greg Germain, professor of law at Syracuse University, told Newsweek that the case “will put pressure on the Court about allowing expanded gun laws” because “this Court has always been extremely enforcing gun rights,” Germain explained, citing precedents including Garland v. Cargill, where the Court limited executive power over bump stocks.
Though the ATF contends that the rule is consistent with congressional gun definitions, this decision will be the measure of whether the Court upholds a constitutionalist stance or supports a political platform regarding gun rights.
Minors’ Gender Transition Treatments
Justices also will speak on the disputed issue of gender transition therapies for children in U.S. Skrmetti, an appeal of Tennessee’s law prohibiting these procedures. The legislation, passed in March, does not allow clinicians to give puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to minors in the state.
A total of 20 states have done so, though the Tennessee ban is now being contested by three trans youth who say it contravenes the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. A federal district court subsequently upheld the law, but the court overturned the case on appeal.
Greg Germain, a law professor at George Washington University, said he would be “very surprised” if the Supreme Court upheld the Tennessee statute: ‘If I let people take drugs for some ailments but not others, it doesn’t seem like they’re breaking equal protection to me,’ Germain told Newsweek (even though he recognized the political gravity of the question).
Checking Age For Porn Websites?
In Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, the Supreme Court will weigh in on a Texas law making porn sites check the ages of users before permitting them to display pornography. The June 2023 law, enacted by the European Parliament, requires websites to verify age and provide health warnings about adult content.
A number of other states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, andVirginia) have also enacted similar legislation, raising questions about the relationship between age verification and First Amendment freedom of speech.
Anti-porno apologists say it impinges on adult access to free speech, but Eric C. Chaffee, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University, told Newsweek that child protection is a “compelling government interest” the Supreme Court had traditionally upheld.‘The case will hinge on whether the Court thinks age-verification offers the best means to protect minors from pornography online,’ Chaffee said.
Looking Ahead
If upheld by the Supreme Court, these cases will have implications for gun control, LGBTQ rights, and free speech in the online era. The rulings will provide an insight into how the Court resolves the tension between policing authority and rights in this new moment of political and social fragmentation.
See Newsweek for further information about these historic cases.
