In a landmark ruling that could make it easier for people to carry handguns in public in Hawaii, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday toppled a New York state law limiting who can have a permit to carry a pistol outside their home.

Hawaii, along with a handful of other states, maintains similar statutes restricting who can carry a handgun in public.

However, Hawaii’s law appears in jeopardy of being overturned, too.

A case challenging Hawaii’s legal requirement for getting a license to carry a firearm in public is currently at the Supreme Court and was previously held up pending the ruling in the New York case.

A decision in the Hawaii case could be made by the high court as soon as Monday.

“I’m very pleased,” said attorney Alan Beck, who represents Hilo’s George K. Young Jr., who initially filed suit against the Hawaii County police chief in 2012. “My client has spent a very long time trying to get his Second Amendment rights vindicated. He’s finally going to see justice served.”

But state House Judiciary Chair Karl Rhodes, a longtime advocate of tougher gun laws, said he expects lawmakers to try to look for ways to blunt the effects of Thursday’s ruling.

“It’s not good for Hawaii, and I hope we can find a way to ameliorate the worst aspects of it,” Rhodes said.

State Sen. Chris Lee agreed, saying lawmakers might consider such things as screening, training requirements and ways to keep guns out of public spaces.

“I think there’s going to be a rush to figure out how states can intervene and ensure public safety,” he said.

As it stands, state law prohibits carrying a firearm in public except to transport it to and from places where it can be purchased and used legally, such as from a gun shop to your home or to the police department for registration. The firearm must be unloaded and in an enclosed container.

The chief of police of each county is responsible for handling firearm registrations and issuing firearm licenses. The law allows for the chief, in only exceptional cases, to grant a license to carry a loaded pistol to an applicant who shows reason to fear injury to himself or his property.

Beck said the reality is that Hawaii essentially bans the carrying of guns outside the home, as there have been only four permits issued in the state over the last 22 years.

While current law requires permit applicants to offer up reasons why a concealed-carry permit is needed, Thursday’s ruling suggests the reverse —with the government needing to demonstrate why an applicant cannot be issued a permit, Rhodes said.

“It’s a step backward for Hawaii, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s not going to make anyone safer here.”

Meanwhile, many Hawaii gun owners appear to be excited about the court ruling. A line reportedly formed at Honolulu Police Department Thursday with those seeking a carry permit.

“We’re absolutely thrilled, said Kainoa Kaku, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association.

Kaku said he’s received at least 25 emails from people asking how they can get a permit. Association members, he said, were expected to meet at a Honolulu watering hole Thursday night to celebrate.

“It’s a great day,” he said. “It only took 14 short years to get this resolved.”

But Kaku said he fully expects politicians to put roadblocks in the way and put up measures such as training requirements and fees.

“They will fight back to make this process as slow as possible,” he said.

Kaku said lawmakers who saw this coming already started proposing new restrictive laws, including three failed attempts in the last three years. They include a permitting scheme that required annual training and fees of $250 a year, and another proposal that required permit holders to not only carry guns but tasers as well, as a first line of defense.

Erica Yamauchi, state co-lead for the Hawaii Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said she and others knew the conservative majority on the Supreme Court made this ruling almost inevitable. “But it’s still a sad day to know our community will be less safe,” she said. “This is a huge blow for public safety.”

Yamauchi said it’s frustrating that the Supreme Court would weaken gun laws at the same time the country is experiencing a rash of gun violence and mass shootings.

Even the Senate, she said, approved a bipartisan gun violence bill Thursday in what looks like it will be the most far-reaching response in decades to the streak of mass shootings.

Aside from New York, the states affected by the decision — California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island — are all at the lower end of the ranking of states with the fewest gun deaths, Yamauchi said, adding that it’s because of their effective gun laws.

“It seems so out of touch right now with how we’re feeling,” she said of the court’s ruling. “As far as gun safety, it seems like it’s one step forward, one step backward.”

Despite the decision, Yamauchi said she feels lucky to live in Hawaii with its common sense gun safety laws. She said she’s hoping lawmakers can do something to help minimize the danger that the ruling represents.

Tom Tomimbang, one of the owners of 808 Gun Club on Queen Street, said he welcomes the court ruling because Hawaii’s law is much too limiting. However, as a former 25-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, he said he hopes there are enough restrictions to ensure that only those who are qualified and capable can carry a weapon in public.

Permit guidelines, he said, should require some kind of training and allow for the ability to determine whether someone is physically and mentally capable of carrying a gun.

As a former police officer, Tomimbang is allowed to concealed-carry, and that’s what he did for the first two years after he left the force. The requirements, he said, were rigorous, including having to take a shooting course every year and undergoing a physical and eye exam every two years.

“I don’t carry anymore because it’s a lot of humbug,” he said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.