The Supreme Court's next term will include cases on child gender reassignment bans, guns and pornography.

The 2024-2025 term begins Oct. 7 when the justices hear their first case. Twenty-eight petitions have been filed so far. grantedMore cases are expected to be added to the docket in the coming weeks.

Below are some of the most important cases scheduled for decision this term.

Biden administration's 'ghost gun' rule

One of the first cases to be heard in court will challenge the Biden administration's “ghost gun” rule. Oral argument in Garland vs. Vanderstoke scheduled For October 8th.

Based on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “Frame or Receiver” rule The law, promulgated in 2022, expanded the definition of a firearm to include kits of parts that are “readily convertible into a functioning weapon,” subject to the same regulations as traditional firearms.

A majority of the high court twice intervened on emergency petitions to uphold the rule after it had been blocked by lower courts.

5th Circuit Found In November 2023, ATF's rules “ignored the clear text of the law and exceeded the limits imposed by law on the authority of government agencies in the name of public policy.” But the Biden administration claim It argued that the lower court's ruling posed a “serious threat to public safety.”

“Under the Fifth Circuit's interpretation, anyone can purchase a kit online and assemble a fully functional gun in minutes, with no background checks, records or serial numbers required,” the government wrote in its petition. is written in. “The result will be an influx of untraceable ghost guns into our nation's communities, endangering the public and disrupting law enforcement efforts to solve violent crimes.”

San Francisco EPA Challenges

There is one case This session's minutes include the interests of one of the country's most liberal cities and energy trade groups. line up.

The City of San Francisco sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging that the agency issued a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit that did not specify clear limits on wastewater discharges. Ta. Lawyers for the city argued that the vague requirements would expose the city to “'catastrophic consequences' from the CWA's enforcement mechanism without advance notice of what the law requires.” (Related: 'Worse than Dobbs' leak': Court watchers point to Supreme Court liberals as possible culprits in latest leak)

“These general water quality conditions expose numerous permit holders in San Francisco and across the country to law enforcement, while also making it difficult to determine the extent to which wastewater must be restricted or treated to comply with the law. “We have not communicated this,” the city said. claimed In that petition.

court preparation document I participated Groups such as the American Petroleum Institute and the American Gas Association argue that many companies “currently have no way of knowing whether they are in compliance with their permits.”

Oral argument is scheduled for October 16th.

Tennessee bans transgender procedures for minors

Tennessee's law, which bans procedures such as cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and sex-reassignment surgery in children, is one of 25 similar state laws across the country and is at the center of another lawsuit pending this session. .

The Biden administration argues that Tennessee's ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. they are Claim The law states that the procedures it restricts are “safe, effective, and may be medically necessary to treat gender dysphoria in transgender youth.”

But unsealed documents in a separate lawsuit challenging a similar ban in Alabama were released in June as “evidence-based” prepared by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which the Biden administration has cited. It has become clear that the medical standards that are said to have been influenced by outsiders. political pressure.

tennessee claim The law prohibits medical interventions that “may cause serious and irreversible side effects, including infertility, loss of bone density, sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.”

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Tennessee to enforce the ban in a September 2023 decision, in which a majority said transgender people are not a “politically powerless” group.

Texas Porn Age Verification Law

Under a Texas law passed in 2023, websites that distribute “sexual content that is harmful to minors” must ensure that users are at least 18 years old. Others 19 stateUtah, Virginia, and Arkansas have also passed age verification laws.

In July, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider the Fifth Circuit's decision that allowed the Texas law to take effect.

The Free Speech Coalition, a trade group representing online porn distributors, said the Texas law, in its efforts to keep minors from accessing websites, “significantly impairs adults' access to constitutionally protected expression.” “It imposes a huge burden on the government.” (Related: “Selling Sex” | Trailer now available)

“The key point here is that requiring all users, including adults, to submit personally identifying information in order to access sensitive and intimate content via the medium of the Internet, which is a unique security and raises privacy concerns,” the coalition wrote in the petition.

texas memo The law does not ban pornography, but simply “incentivizes an industry that makes billions of dollars from the sale of obscene materials to ensure that those accessing the material are of adult age.” It simply requires them to take reasonable measures.

FDA denies approval of flavored e-cigarettes

The Supreme Court agreed to review the 5th Circuit. decision The report found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it denied applications to market flavored e-cigarette products.

In a 10-6 en banc ruling, Justice Andrew Oldham said the FDA had sent manufacturers into a “hot pursuit.”

“After telling manufacturers that their marketing plans were 'critical' to their applications, FDA freely admitted that it had not read a single word of the million plans,” the opinion said. states.

The FDA claims these products pose a “serious risk to youth.” in easythe applicants “failed to demonstrate that licensing their flavored products was appropriate to protect public health.”

All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.