WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court left in doubt Monday whether gun owners have a Second Amendment right to carry a firearm in ­public.

Without a comment or dissent, the justices turned down a gun rights challenge to a New York law that strictly limits who can legally carry a weapon when they are on the streets. To obtain a "concealed carry" permit, New Yorkers must convince a county official that they have a "special need for protection" that goes beyond living or working in a high-crime area.

Only about one-tenth of 1 percent of New Yorkers have concealed carry permits, compared with more than 6 percent in the neighboring states of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, the court was told.

Several gun owners who were denied a concealed carry permit sued, arguing they had a Second Amendment right to carry a gun for self-defense.

Rather than hear their appeal, the high court let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court that held states have broad authority to ­regulate guns in public.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the decision keeps in place the state's "sensible and effective regulations of ­concealed handguns. This is a victory for families across New York who are rightly concerned about the scourge of gun violence."

The court's refusal to hear an appeal doesn't set a legal precedent, and the justices do not explain their reasons for turning away a case.

For now, however, the reach of the Second Amendment right "to keep and bear arms" remains uncertain.

In a pair of decisions in 2008 and 2010, the high court struck down ordinances in Washington and Chicago because they prohibited all private possession of handguns, including keeping a gun at home for self-defense. The justices didn't address whether this right to self-defense includes a right to be armed in public. Most states allow law-abiding gun owners to obtain a concealed carry permit.