CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A Senate committee has recommended a bill that would prohibit releasing a list of concealed weapons permit holders to the public.

Senate File 106 also would lift the state restriction against honoring permits issued in other states by local agencies. Currently, Wyoming will not honor permits issued by county sheriffs or other local agencies.

"In Idaho, the permit is issued by the sheriff. But they do the same kind of checking that we do," Sen. Mark Harris, D-Green River, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

The bill also would put an end to the backdoor practice of Wyoming residents seeking carry permits in states with more lax standards after being refused here.

And the bill would create a reciprocity agreement to recognize permits from states that recognize Wyoming permits.

The bill is backed by the National Rifle Association.

Christopher Oswald, Wyoming liaison of the NRA, supports withholding the list of names from the public.

"It's nobody's business if you are a law-abiding citizen," Oswald said.

The provision to keep the names out of the public purview prompted Committee Chairman John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, to ask: "Are you saying the right to bear arms supersedes the right to a free press? The names of other license holders in the state are public record."

Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan Skoric said a lawsuit is pending over a request by the Gillette News-Record to see the list of names.

"The statute says who has access to the information," Skoric said. "It doesn't necessarily exclude the public by definition."

Jim Angell, executive director of the Wyoming Press Association, said the Gillette newspaper did not want to publish a list. It merely wanted to find several permit-holders to interview, Angell said.

"We're not interested in taking away people's Second Amendment rights," Angell said. "We want to monitor the public's work on the public's behalf."

The committee approved the bill unanimously Wednesday. It now goes before the entire Senate.