A bill to allow concealed weapons in Kentucky bars has passed its first committee hearing in the Legislature.
The Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee approved the measure Tuesday. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. John Schickel of Union, is the committee's chairman.
Current state law prohibits concealed firearms from being carried into bars, but Schickel's bill would allow it as long as those who carry them do not drink.
Schickel says current law allows people to openly carry visible weapons into bars at the proprietor's discretion.
Schickel also says his bill would not interfere with a bar owner's right to prohibit guns at an establishment.
