A high-stakes fight over concealed carry of firearms in New Jersey came to a head Wednesday as state authorities and a coalition of gun rights groups debated whether guns should be allowed in an array of public places, from hospitals and bars to public playgrounds and zoos.

They appeared in federal appeals court in Philadelphia, where a three-judge panel heard arguments in a case that could reshape the entire handgun permitting scheme in the Garden State. New Jersey has among the strictest firearms laws in the nation — as well as one of the lowest rates of gun violence.

After a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling threw out carry laws in states like New York and New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a new law making it easier to obtain a permit but limiting where in public guns can be legally carried. Gun rights groups sued, arguing New Jersey was ignoring the Supreme Court’s mandate.

“Like it or not, New Jersey is now a carry state,” said Scott Bach, the head of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, one of the plaintiff groups, after the high court’s ruling.

But where, exactly, should concealed guns be allowed? That’s one of the key questions for the court to decide.

Unlike Florida or Texas, “we’re not used to seeing people walk around with guns” in New Jersey, said state Senate President Nick Scutari, one of the state’s top Democrats, during a press briefing ahead of the hearing.

If the gun groups are successful in their challenge, that could soon change.

The law Murphy signed banned concealed carry at a variety of “sensitive places” including public parks, beaches, bars, restaurants and medical facilities, among others. But a federal District Court judge threw out many of those restrictions, bringing the matter in front of the appellate judges.

Erin Murphy, one of the attorneys for the gun rights advocates, said in court Wednesday that New Jersey’s list of gun-free zones was so wide-reaching that it amounted to an outright ban.

“It doesn’t allow you to carry anywhere, essentially, except for private property with the expressed, explicit permission of the private property owner,” she said of the law.

“The state’s passed a law that makes it a crime to exercise a constitutional right at a place that is generally held open to the public.”

Angela Cai, New Jersey’s deputy solicitor general, countered New Jersey’s concealed carry law was in line with the Second Amendment and well-rooted in history, a key requirement under the new Supreme Court ruling.

She said the measure still allowed firearms “in any place that is not designated as sensitive” and merely flipped the presumption for private places, making it so that guns are prohibited from private property unless the property owner consents.

The jurists — Judges Cheryl Ann Krause, Cindy K. Chung and David J. Porter — heard more than two hours of oral argument as they weigh the case, one of several challenges to handgun carry laws in jurisdictions around the country in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, known as the Bruen decision. Lawsuits going after similar gun control measures in New York and Maryland are currently pending.

The coalition of gun groups in the New Jersey case includes the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, the State Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs and the national Firearms Policy Coalition, as well as a number of individual gun owners.

They have argued for legal carry in most public places by default, with special carveouts for places like courthouses, polling places and public schools.

Outside the courthouse, activists from gun control groups including Everytown For Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action called on the judges to uphold New Jersey’s law, saying the Garden State’s low gun violence rate compared to other states was attributable to its tight gun laws.

Previously, few people besides retired police officers or victims of violent crimes could get a carry permit in New Jersey. Under the new law, you are eligible if you undergo a criminal and mental health background check, provide references, get training and obtain insurance.

The legal challenge brought by the gun groups also targets some of those requirements, arguing they are too burdensome for someone seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights. In particular, they object to the requirement that a permit-seeker get four character references, as well as pay up to $200 in permitting fees.

Scutari, D-Union, the state Senate president, said those permitting requirements should not deter “responsible gun owners.”

“People think they’re going to go out and play cowboy when they have a gun out there,” he said of critics of New Jersey’s law prior to the hearing, saying concealed carry should be strictly regulated,” he said. “They don’t understand the enormity of the responsibility you’re taking when you go out there and carry a gun in public.”

The appellate judges did not indicate when they will issue an opinion, a process that could take months. Currently, concealed carry in New Jersey remains restricted in most public places pending the appeal.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin, whose office is defending the law in court, said in an interview prior to the hearing that he expected New Jersey’s carry restrictions to be upheld.

“We’re right on the law,” Platkin said. “There’s clear historical precedent, even under the Bruen decision, for everything that we’re advocating for.”

“Ultimately, where we are now is where I expect things to end up, which is that the law the governor signed is, overwhelmingly, the law of the land.”