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The Supreme Court gun ruling could throw off gun restrictions in states with the lowest gun death rates — including Mass.

The US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.Eric Lee/Bloomberg

A Supreme Court ruling Thursday struck down a New York gun law that required people seeking a license to carry a gun to show “proper cause,” potentially opening the door for similar gun restrictions to fall in other states, including Massachusetts.

In addition to New York and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, and California ― states that have some of the lowest gun death rates in the nation ― have similar provisions, according to the Associated Press. In fact, among the 10 states with the lowest firearm mortality rates, six have restrictions on who can carry guns in public that are now under threat from Thursday’s ruling.

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Maryland, a state that has seen a surge in homicides amid the coronavirus pandemic, was not among the 10 states with lowest firearm mortality rates, but does have a law that could be overturned thanks to the ruling, according to the AP.

Here is a look at firearm death rates by state in 2020, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano. John Hancock can be reached at john.hancock@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Hancock_JohnD.