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Washington, DC (AP) - The Supreme Court has ruled that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, a major expansion of gun rights.
The court struck down a New York gun law in a ruling expected to directly impact half a dozen other populous states.
Thursday's decision came with recent mass shootings fresh in the nation’s mind and Americans emotionally divided on the issue.
Across the street from the court, the Senate sped toward passage of its own national legislation, a gun law modest in scope but still the most far-reaching in decades.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the high court's 6-3 conservative majority.