WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court issued its biggest gun rights ruling in more than a decade Thursday. Here are some questions and answers about what the decision does and does not do:
WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON GUNS?
The Supreme Court said that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. That’s important because about half a dozen states have conditioned getting a license to carry a gun in public on the person demonstrating an actual need – sometimes called “good cause” or “proper cause” – to carry the weapon. That limits who can carry a weapon in those states.
In its decision, the Supreme Court struck down New York’s “proper cause” requirement, but other states’ laws are expected to face quick challenges. About one-quarter of the U.S. population lives in states expected to be affected by the ruling.
The last time the court issued major gun decisions was in 2008 and 2010. In those decisions the justices established a nationwide right to keep a gun for self-defense in a person’s home. The question for the court this time was just about carrying a gun outside the home.