New Jersey's highest court will hear a challenge to one of the state's strictest gun laws.

The state Supreme Court will take up the case of Richard Patano of Manalapan, who was denied the right to carry a handgun by a judge.

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New Jersey law states that residents must receive permission from a police official and a judge to carry a handgun in public.

The person must prove that he or she has an urgent need for self-protection in order to carry a gun.

Patano's lawyer says the suit challenges the 1968 state ruling that citizens must receive permission to carry handguns.

The court agreed weeks ago to take the case, before a federal appeals court Wednesday upheld New Jersey's "justifiable need" law. No date has yet been set for arguments.

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