The Supreme Court is back in session

The 2024-2025 term of the Supreme Court officially began yesterday. And, much like last term, it won’t be a boring one.

A (non-exhaustive) list of hot-button issues SCOTUS will be tackling:

• Gun control: Later today, the Court will hear arguments over whether the ATF can regulate the sale of “ghost guns” – mostly untraceable firearms made from at-home kits – in the same manner as commercial gun sales, which require serial numbers and federal background checks.
• Transgender care: SCOTUS will consider arguments over the legality of Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which includes puberty blockers and hormone therapy. 24 other states have adopted similar laws – a number which could further increase if SCOTUS upholds Tennessee's ban.
• The death penalty: Richard Glossip, who was sentenced to die over a 1997 murder-for-hire scheme, has joined with Oklahoma’s attorney general in seeking to overturn his murder conviction and death sentence. SCOTUS will decide whether to uphold a lower court decision that approved the death penalty despite prosecutors’ objections.
• Age restrictions for porn: SCOTUS is scheduled to hear a challenge to a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the ages of their visitors, with an adult entertainment trade association claiming Texas’ law violates the First Amendment.
• Mexico suing US gunmakers: The Court will decide whether to block a $10 billion lawsuit filed by the Mexican government over allegations US gunmakers knew their weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico, but failed to take any preventative action.

📸 Big picture: Public opinion of SCOTUS is at a near-record low, driven mainly by disapproval from Democrats. In 2020, ~50% of both Republicans and Democrats approved of the court’s performance. But Gallup recently found 72% of Republicans approve of the court, compared with 45% of Independents and 15% of Democrats.