The decision is expected to prompt a wave of lawsuits on loosening current state and federal restrictions and will force a number of states to change their laws, The New York Times reports.

The 6-to-3 decision demonstrated the power of the six conservative justices – all of whom voted to strike the law down. The three liberal justices dissented.

Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said the Second Amendment protects “an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home”.

States may continue to prohibit guns in certain locations such as schools and government buildings, wrote Justice Thomas, but the ruling leaves this open-ended.

President Biden denounced the ruling and said he was “deeply disappointed”. It “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution and should deeply trouble us all,” he added.

Firearms manufacturers fortunes rose on Wall Street, with Smith & Wesson’s share price climbing more than nine per cent.