SCOTUS To Consider Transgender Bathroom Ban (& More!)

 Openly gay legal reporter Chris Geidner is reporting that the Supreme Court of the United States will be considering a number of important cases for trans equality in the 2023-2024 term.

Here are some of the issues which the highest Court in the land will be deliberating on in the not too-distant future regarding transgender rights:

Bathroom bans

In addition to the Idaho case at the Ninth Circuit, however, a case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit could actually make bigger headlines. The Martinsville school district in Indiana, in a petition filed by Paul Clement, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the matter in a case challenging the district’s ban.

Gender-affirming care bans

In short, whether it comes quickly or slightly less quickly, state bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors will be headed to the Supreme Court within the coming year. (Note also that Florida’s ban — and litigation — also includes restrictions on adult care, as detailed in the recent class certification in a challenge to the ban there.)

Sports bans

The final major area of transgender-related litigation making its way through the courts are sports bans. And, on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held oral arguments over West Virginia’s law banning trans girls and women from girls and women’s school sports teams.

Anti-drag laws

In short, while anti-drag laws are unlikely to make their way to the Supreme Court’s docket this term, there will be a ruling on the scope of Florida’s injunction pending appeal sometime in November. Depending on how that’s resolved, moreover, it could tell us some information about how the court is looking at these efforts.

This is just another example of the ongoing nature of the fight for LGBT equality occurring in the courts, even in the post-Obergefell era.