The US Supreme Court ruled  that Americans have a fundamental right to carry firearms in public in a landmark decision that will prevent states from restricting people carrying guns.

The 6-3 ruling, which comes as the country grapples with a shocking surge in gun crime, strikes down a New York law that required a person to prove they had legitimate self-defense needs to receive a gun permit.

“The Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home,” said Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion.

“New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.”