The New York law the court is reviewing has been in place since 1913 and says that to carry a concealed handgun in public for self-defense, a person applying for a license has to demonstrate “proper cause,” an actual need to carry the weapon. Gun rights groups, meanwhile, say the risk of a confrontation is precisely why they have a right to be armed for self-defense. Gun control groups say if a high court ruling requires states to drop restrictions, the result will be more violence. The arguments come as gun violence has surged. The justices could decide whether those laws, known as “may issue” laws, can stand. But about half a dozen states, including populous California and several Eastern states, restrict the carrying of guns to those who can demonstrate a particular need for doing so.

In most of the country gun owners have little difficulty legally carrying their weapons when they go out. The question for the court now has to do with carrying a gun in public for self-defense. Those decisions established a nationwide right to keep a gun at home for self-defense. The court last issued major gun rights decisions in 20. Such a ruling could dramatically increase the number of people eligible to carry firearms as they go about their daily lives. They want the court to say the New York law is too restrictive, which could call into question similar laws in other states. Gun rights advocates including the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and two private citizens challenging the law hope that the court with a 6-3 conservative majority is poised to side with them. The case before the court Wednesday centers on New York’s restrictive gun permit law and whether limits the state has placed on carrying a gun in public violate the Second Amendment.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a gun rights case that could lead to more guns on the streets of New York and Los Angeles and threaten restrictions on guns in subways, airports, bars, churches, schools and other places where people gather.

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