The House voted yesterday to allow more people to carry concealed deadly weapons without a permit.

But the Senate refused to go along and asked the House to drop the changes it made to Senate Bill 114. The House declined, sending the issue to a House-Senate conference committee, where conferees last night compromised about midway between the Senate and House versions.

The compromise would allow sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, jailers and alcoholic beverage control officers to carry concealed weapons at any time anywhere in the state, as the House wanted. But the Senate conferees got their House counterparts to drop the idea of giving these groups the privilege: state insurance investigators, coroners, airport and university police, and school security officers.

The Senate negotiators also got House members to drop from the bill a clause that would allow any officer of the court to carry a concealed weapon in a courthouse. The chief Senate negotiator, Sen. Bob Stivers, R-Manchester, said senators were concerned that this was too broad and would include all attorneys and court officers including deputy bailiffs.

The conference committee is to reconvene early this morning to formalize its agreement reached last night.

The bill, which originally was limited to judges and prosecutors, was inspired largely by last year's murder of Commonwealth's Attorney Fred Capps of Burkesville by a man he was to prosecute that day. Both died in a shootout at Capps' home.

Earlier in the day, 88 House members voted for the bill. Voting no were Republican Reps. Scott Brinkman and Bob Heleringer of Louisville and Tim Feeley of Crestwood, and Democrats Tom Burch, Larry Clark, Joni Jenkins, Mary Lou Marzian and Jim Wayne of Louisville and Kathy Stein of Lexington.

On other firearms related bills:

HB1 went to Gov. to sign w/o any amendments.
http://162.114.4.13/record/01rs/HB1.htm

The Senate has adjourned and probably HB39 is dead.
http://162.114.4.13/record/01rs/HB39.htm