Supreme Court to weigh concealed carry rights amid surge in gun violence, sales

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would consider whether Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense.

As the nation grapples with a surge in gun violence and record gun sales, the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would consider whether Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense. The case is an appeal by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and two individual gun owners seeking to challenge state gun licensing rules that grant concealed carry permits only to those with "proper cause" to possess a firearm outside the home. Lower courts have split over whether that standard is constitutional under the Second Amendment. The justices will hear arguments during its next term, which begins in October. The case is a major test for the court’s new conservative majority, including three appointees by President Donald Trump, which has taken a more expansive view of gun rights in the past. The court hasn’t issued a major gun-rights ruling in more than a decade.