U.S. Supreme Court to hear major case on carrying handguns in public

FILE PHOTO: Seized handguns are pictured at the police headquarters in New York, New York August 19, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court stepped back into the heated debate over gun rights on Monday, agreeing to hear a challenge backed by the National Rifle Association to New York state's restrictions on people carrying concealed handguns in public.

The justices will take up an appeal by two gun owners and the New York affiliate of the NRA, an influential gun rights group closely aligned with Republicans, of a lower court ruling throwing out their challenge to the restrictions on concealed handguns outside the home.