The Supreme Court on Thursday eased restrictions on carrying firearms in public, continuing a trend by the court in recent years of weakening gun restrictions.

The court's conservative majority ruled 6-3 that New York could not prohibit gun owners from carrying their handgun outside their home based on the state's determination that the citizen lacked sufficient cause to fear for their own safety.

The case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was based in a lawsuit brought by two New York men who challenged a state law that requires them to have a "proper cause," or special need, in order to carry a firearm outside their home. The ruling will have a ripple effect for other states with similar restrictions, such as California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.