Supreme Court's 2026 Term: Gun Rights and Transgender Athlete Bans

On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in an unnamed case involving a nonviolent felon's challenge to the federal firearms ban, leaving that specific ban enforceable for now. However, the bundle provides no citation to a Supreme Court precedent from the past eight years that directly upholds felon-in-possession laws under the Second Amendment; it references only a 10th Circuit decision and general litigation history. This means the Department of Justice can continue enforcement without immediate appellate guidance, but the legal uncertainty persists after Bruen, and future challenges remain likely. For civil rights litigators, this is a temporary reprieve rather than a permanent resolution, underscoring the need to monitor gun regulation's racial equity implications highlighted in the Harvard Law Review Foreword.

On January 13, 2026, the Court heard oral arguments in two consolidated cases challenging state laws that bar transgender athletes from female sports: Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. According to SCOTUSblog's oral argument live blog, the Court 'appears likely to uphold transgender athlete bans,' a finding supported by the National Constitution Center's January 21, 2026 analysis. The bundle does not contain any source predicting the Court would rule against such bans, nor does it state that a decision is expected by June 2026 (though that is the Court's typical timeline). The ACLU press release confirms arguments occurred and highlights the stakes for Title IX. These cases could narrow Equal Protection Clause and Title IX protections, potentially emboldening state-level bans nationwide.