Key facts
- The Supreme Court is expected to rule on cases involving gun laws and transgender athletes by the end of June.
- One case challenges a federal law barring illegal drug users from owning guns.
- Another case concerns a Hawaii law restricting handgun carrying on private property.
- The court will also rule on Idaho and West Virginia laws banning transgender athletes from female sports.
- The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, which has moved American law rightward.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue significant rulings by the end of June on cases concerning gun laws and the participation of transgender athletes in sports. These decisions come as the court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, continues to shape American law.
In matters of gun rights, the court is reviewing challenges to a federal law that prohibits illegal drug users from possessing firearms. Arguments in March suggested skepticism towards this provision, with justices also considering its impact on other parts of the Gun Control Act of 1968. Separately, the court heard arguments in January regarding a Hawaii law requiring express authorization to carry a handgun on private property open to the public, with indications that the state's defense may be rejected.
Regarding transgender athletes, the court is set to decide the legality of laws in Idaho and West Virginia that ban transgender individuals from competing on female sports teams. During January arguments, the conservative justices appeared likely to uphold these state-level restrictions. Public opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in sports aligned with their gender identity, particularly at the collegiate level.
The court's term also includes decisions on immigration policies, such as challenges to Trump's efforts to restrict birthright citizenship and revoke Temporary Protected Status for certain immigrants. Additionally, a religious rights case involving a Rastafarian man's dispute with Louisiana prison officials is pending, as is a death penalty case where a convicted murderer was spared execution due to a finding of intellectual disability.
These rulings follow a trend of the court moving American law rightward, including recent decisions that allowed restrictions on transgender rights to take effect and upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Tennessee.