18 ABBOTT v. PEREZ Opinion of the Court the strictures of preclearance under §3(c) of the Voting Rights Act.13 This is a remedy that the plaintiffs hoped to obtain, see, e.g., App. 177a, and that the District Court seemed inclined to consider, see C. J. S. 122a–123a (declining to declare moot the challenges to the long-sincerepealed 2011 plans because “there remains the possibility of declaratory and equitable relief under §3(c)”). Contending that the orders here do not qualify under §1253, appellees analogize this case to Gunn, 399 U. S. 383, but there is no relevant similarity. In Gunn, anti-war protesters were charged with violating a Texas “disturbingthe-peace statute,” id., at 384, and they challenged the constitutionality of the statute in federal court. After the state charges were dismissed, the District Court issued a “discursive” opinion “expressing the view that [the statute was] constitutionally invalid.” Id., at 386–387. But the court then refrained from going any further, “pending the next session, special or general, of the Texas legislature, at which time the State of Texas may, if it so desires, enact such disturbing-the-peace statute as will meet constitutional requirements.” University Comm. to End War in Viet Nam v. Gunn, 289 F. Supp. 469, 475 (WD Tex. 1968). The defendants appealed to this Court, and at the time of our decision two years later, neither the Legislature nor the District Court had taken any further action. We therefore held that we lacked jurisdiction under §1253. The District Court order in that case did not have the same practical effect as an injunction. Indeed, it had no practical effect whatsoever and is thus entirely different —————— 13 Section 3(c) provides that if “the court finds that violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth amendment justifying equitable relief,” the court “shall retain jurisdiction for such period as it may deem appropriate and during such period no voting” practice shall go into effect unless first precleared by the court or the United States Attorney General. 52 U. S. C. §10302(c).