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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Setting the stage for a dramatic battle over gun rights, the Supreme Court Wednesday accepted an appeal challenging the ability of state and local governments to enforce strict limits on handguns and other weapons.

The high court returned from its summer recess, meeting in private to consider thousands of pending appeals that have piled up the past three months. The Second Amendment case from Chicago was the most anticipated of the petitions, and oral arguments will be held sometime early next year. Nine other cases were also accepted for review.

At issue is whether the constitutional "right of the people to keep and bear arms" applies to local gun control ordinances, or only to federal restrictions. The basic question has remained unanswered for decades, and gives the conservative majority on the high court another chance to allow individuals expanded weapon ownership rights.

The appeal was filed by a community activist in Chicago who sought a handgun for protection from gangs.

The justices last year affirmed an individual right to possess handguns, tossing out restrictive laws in Washington, D.C.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Senate narrowly rejected a controversial measure to allow people to carry concealed weapons from state to state Wednesday.

The vote was 58 to 39. The amendment needed 60 votes to pass.

The measure would have required each of the 48 states that currently allow concealed firearms to honor permits issued in other states.

It was the first significant defeat this year for the gun-rights campaigners, after gun-control advocates faced an unexpected setback in May.

In May, President Barack Obama signed a credit card bill that included a provision allowing people to carry guns in national parks. Another bill that would have given the District of Columbia's representative in Congress full voting rights stalled earlier in the year after Senate Republicans attached a provision that would have eased tight gun controls in the district.

The concealed weapons proposal was an amendment to a larger defense appropriations bill, introduced by Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican.

Has public opinion shifted on gun control?

(CNN) - Has public opinion shifted on gun control?

Yes. And in a very surprising way.

Binghamton . . . Pittsburgh . . . Oakland . . . Samson, Alabama . . . Carthage, North Carolina . . . sensational incidents of gun violence all over the country.

Are we seeing an impact on public opinion?

Since 2001, a majority of Americans has favored stricter gun laws. Though support has been trending slightly down. Eight years ago, 54 percent of Americans wanted stricter gun laws compared to 50 percent in 2007, according to a Gallup poll.

And now? A sharp, sudden drop. Only 39 percent of Americans now favor stricter gun laws.

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