(AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court says a man convicted of attempting to commit a violent crime is barred from obtaining a permit to carry a concealed gun.

The high court’s decision Friday came in the case of Tony Underwood, who protested the Nebraska State Patrol’s denial in 2011 of his application to carry a concealed handgun because he was convicted in 2008 of misdemeanor attempted sexual assault of a child.

Underwood argued that no act of violence took place and that the misdemeanor should not have been considered a violent crime.

But the high court said the intent of the law is to gauge the future behavior of a permit holder, and that one who has attempted to commit a violent crime can be barred from carrying a concealed weapon.