Washington - The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Americans have a fundamental right to carry firearms in public in a landmark decision that came just weeks after another deadly school shooting. The 6-3 decision strikes down a century-old New York law that required a person to prove they had a legitimate self-defense need, or “proper cause,” to receive a gun permit. Several other states, including California, have similar laws -- and the court’s ruling will curb their ability to restrict people from carrying guns in public. Despite a growing call for limits on firearms after two horrific mass shootings in May, the court sided with gun advocates who said the US Constitution guarantees the right to own and carry guns. The ruling is the first by the court in a major Second Amendment case in over a decade, when it ruled in 2008 that Americans have a right to keep a gun at home.