US Supreme Court reverses New York law limit gun rights

The US Supreme Court has struck down a New York law restricting gun carrying rights.

The law required residents who want a licence to prove "proper cause" to carry concealed weapons and that they faced "a special or unique" danger.

The 6-3 decision stated the requirement violates the Constitutional right to bear arms.

The ruling jeopardises similar restrictions in other states and expands gun rights.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the six-justice conservative majority on the court, held that Americans have a right to carry "commonly used" firearms for personal defence.

The Second Amendment right to bear arms is not a "second class" constitutional right subject to greater restrictions "than other Bill of Rights guarantees," he wrote.

The liberal justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer dissented.