NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., maker of namesake firearms, dropped to the lowest since January after the US Supreme Court said it will consider whether individuals have a constitutional right to own firearms.

Smith & Wesson's stock fell 77 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $10.40 in 1.49 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Shares of the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company have lost 20 percent in 2007.

The justices agreed to hear arguments on the District of Columbia's decades-old hand-gun ban. A ruling against Washington would give gun-rights advocates a long-sought legal victory and raise question about weapons restrictions in New York, Chicago and other cities. The high court has never directly said whether the Constitution's Second Amendment covers people who don't belong to a state-run militia.

The court will review a federal appeals court decision that struck down Washington's ban and said the Second Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable restrictions on their right to own firearms. The decision marked the first time a federal appeals court had ever voided a law on Second Amendment grounds.

Sturm, Ruger & Co., the Southport, Connecticut-based producer of rifles, handguns and shotguns, fell 31 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $8.49.