The Supreme Court continued its recent hands-off approach on gun control , refusing on Monday to accept a challenge to New Jersey 's restrictions on carrying weapons in public . The justices without comment let stand a state law that anyone who wants to possess a handgun outside the home for self defense first prove a `` justifiable need '' for doing so . Four gun owners in the state , backed by 19 states and several advocacy groups , argued the measure violated their Second Amendment rights . The law mandates that local police and a judge first approve such gun permits . The court has in the past year rejected similar challenges in Texas , Maryland , and New York . But all states allow at least some limited ability to carry a concealed weapon in public , often requiring `` good cause '' by an individual before a permit is issued . Vermont , Arizona , Alaska , and Wyoming do not require any permit for a concealed weapon . There are as many as 275 million guns in the United States , the Justice Department estimates . Handguns were used in three quarters of the more than 10,000 homicides involving firearms in 2005 . The current debate follows the Supreme Court 's landmark 2008 ruling that affirmed an individual 's right to own a gun for the first time . But that divided ruling , which struck down restrictions in Washington , D.C. , confined the analysis to the home . The justices left in place other gun laws , including those `` forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools . '' Efforts by various groups to expand the right to the streets have mostly failed . But a federal appeals court earlier this year ruled San Diego County 's limits on those seeking a concealed carry permit was unconstitutional . That could lead to a high court examination of the issue in coming months . Efforts to craft compromise gun-control legislation have stalled in Congress despite the Newtown , Connecticut , school massacre in 2012 and a string of mass shootings since . The emphasis has shifted to the states where gun-rights advocates have made legislative gains . The New Jersey case is Drake v. Jerejian ( 13-827 ) .
The Supreme Court let stand law requiring proof that a gun needs to be carried in public . Four gun owners appealed , saying the New Jersey law violated their rights . Score: 7