Majority of Supreme Court appears to think N.Y. gun law is too restrictive

A majority of Supreme Court justices indicated Wednesday that they believe Americans generally have a right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense and that a New York law requiring special justification for getting such a permit is too restrictive.

But it was unclear from a two-hour argument in the case how much more the court was willing to do to clarify the Second Amendment. Several expressed concern about allowing those with concealed weapons in sensitive areas, such as stadiums, crowded public events or places were alcohol is served.

The court’s six conservative justices expressed varying levels of support for the two individuals and the National Rifle Association affiliate challenging New York’s requirement, enacted more than a century ago, that says those who want to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense show a “special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community.”

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the conservative member of the court thought least eager to want to weigh in on state and local gun control measures, nonetheless said New York’s law seemed at odds with a constitutional right.