The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that tests the boundaries of the Second Amendment.

The case concerns New York’s gun-licensing statute. The statute provides that members of the general public may obtain licenses to possess guns within their home so long as they meet certain basic requirements such as age and “good moral character.” There is a heightened standard—an additional showing of “proper cause” (basically, an acute need for self-defense)—to receive a license to carry a concealed gun in public. Local government officials serve as “licensing officers,” pursuant to the statute, and they decide whether applicants have demonstrated “proper cause.”