The new Supreme Court term begins on Monday, October 7. With it comes major cases that will help define life in the United States, from gun control to online pornography.
Here are the major cases the court will be considering this term:
Self-Assembly Ghost Guns
If a gun comes in separate pieces that you must assemble yourself, are you being sold a gun or gun parts? If it’s the latter, then why should the buyer have to comply with gun registration and other paperwork?
That’s the question the Supreme Court will have to consider when it hears oral arguments on its second day of term.
On October 8, the court will hear oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, a challenge to a regulation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that places new requirements on previously untraceable “ghost guns” assembled by the buyer.
The untraceable gun parts are typically purchased online, and their use has surged in recent years.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
The ATF rule, introduced in April 2022, amends the definition of a firearm to include self-assembly kits. It also stipulated that partially assembled weapons that can easily be converted to full firearms must be registered as guns.
That means the owners must have a gun license and undergo background checks, and the guns must have traceable serial numbers.
Gun dealers challenged the regulation and were victorious in a federal appeal court. The government is now challenging that decision.
Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, told Newsweek that the case will be a very interesting test for the Supreme Court.
“The current court has been very protective of gun rights, for example, by holding in Garland v. Cargill that the law regulating machine guns didn’t allow the executive branch to pass a regulation limiting bump stops, which in operation allow rapid fire much like machine guns,” he said.
In addition, through its June decision in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo case, “the current court has limited the executive branch’s authority to expand laws through administrative regulations.”
“Unlike the Cargill case on bump stops, the ghost gun regulation does not expand on Congress’s definition—it simply follows it,” Germain said.
“The outcome of the case will reveal whether a majority of the Supreme Court stands on constitutional principle or whether they are political hacks abusing their positions to legislate from the bench.
“I am probably in the minority among law professors, but I expect they will model for lower courts the importance of following the law and ruling on principle, regardless of their personal political beliefs,” he said.
Confiscated “ghost guns” displayed in New York City on June 29, 2022. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on October 8 on whether ghost guns will require a license and background check.
Confiscated “ghost guns” displayed in New York City on June 29, 2022. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on October 8 on whether ghost guns will require a license and background check.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Gender Transition
In U.S. v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court will consider a Tennessee law that bans gender transition treatments for minors.
More than 20 states have passed laws that block minors’ access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender-affirming surgery.
The drugs in question can be used to treat other medical conditions unrelated to gender identification.
Tennessee’s law, which was enacted in March, prohibits health care providers from providing hormones or puberty blockers to “enable a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex”
Two transgender boys and one transgender girl are challenging the law, claiming that it violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
A federal district court struck down the Tennessee law, and that decision was overturned on appeal.
Germain told Newsweek that he would be “very surprised” if the Supreme Court struck down the Tennessee law.
“Allowing the use of drugs for certain conditions and not others does not strike me as violating equal protection. But it’s the ultimate political hot potato these days,” he said.
Age Verification for Porn Sites
In Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, the court will consider a Texas law that requires porn websites to verify a user’s age.
The Texas law, enacted in June 2023, required that users be 18 or over to view content on adult websites where one-third of the content could be harmful to minors. In addition, porn websites must display health warnings about the psychological risks of adult material.
A model wearing a medal promoting Pornhub in Rio de Janeiro on August 4, 2016. The Supreme Court is to consider the legality of age verification requirements for porn sites.
A model wearing a medal promoting Pornhub in Rio de Janeiro on August 4, 2016. The Supreme Court is to consider the legality of age verification requirements for porn sites.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
There has been a growing trend of introducing such laws.
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia have all enacted age verification laws.
Eric C. Chaffee, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told Newsweek that the case will test the limits of free speech.
“Even with this high standard for restrictions on speech, opponents of age-verification laws may have a difficult time prevailing in this case. They argue that these kinds of age-verification laws are an attempt to burden adult access to constitutionally protected speech. Protecting children has long been held by the Supreme Court to be a compelling government interest,” he said.
“The case will turn on whether the Court believes that age-verification provides the least restrictive means of protecting minors from pornography in cyberspace.”
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Publish date : 2024-10-05 22:00:00
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