The age at which Kentuckians would be allowed to conceal carry firearms could drop from 21 to 18-years-old under Senate Bill 75. It passed a committee vote Thursday, but Democrats and a couple Republicans withheld support.

Kentucky has some of the most permissive gun laws in the country. Permits are not required for anyone 21 years or older to conceal carry a firearm. Background checks are not required for private sales of firearms. Kentucky does not require a permit to purchase a gun either.

First-term GOP Sen. Aaron Reed from Shelbyville told a committee Thursday the state needs a “common sense correction” to further enhance gun rights in the state. Under his bill, 18, 19 and 20-year-old Kentuckians would be allowed to conceal carry firearms without a permit or training too, like other adults in the state. Reed compared concealed carry to voting, free speech and serving in the military.

“If we acknowledge that they have the right to own a firearm, then why are we denying them the ability to carry one for their own protection?” Reed said. “For me, this issue is somewhat personal. I have an 18-year-old daughter, and as her father, I want her to have every legal tool available to defend herself.”

Kentuckians who are 18 years old are allowed to carry a gun in the state, but they are required to do so openly. Military personnel are allowed to concealed carry at 18 years old.

GOP Sen. Danny Carroll, a former Paducah police officer, said he could not see any benefits from the legislation. He said he already finds it concerning that people are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in the state with no training, let alone young adults.

“My entire adult life as a law enforcement officer, I was trained regularly to know how and when to shoot that gun. The idea of people carrying a concealed weapon who may not even know how to shoot that weapon is terrifying,” Carroll said. “I think we went too far there. And I think this is another step where we have gone too far.”

Despite two “no” votes and one lawmaker choosing to pass on voting, Senate Bill 75 gained the Senate committee’s approval. It now heads to the Senate floor.

Reed was joined in presenting his bill by a National Rifle Association lobbyist. NRA Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Taylor McKee told lawmakers he believes the bill “expands civil liberties.”

“It allows young adults to protect themselves and their loved ones,” McKee said. “This bill allows young mothers and daughters to carry and protect themselves against criminals who, I might remind you, do not follow the law regardless of what this great body passes.”

Republican Sen. Matthew Deneen from Elizabethtown passed on voting for or against the bill — he said he wasn’t against it per se, but wanted to see changes to the legislation to make it a “little bit stronger.” He said he wanted to see some training requirements before allowing 18 year olds to carry concealed weapons.

Several gun violence prevention advocates, wearing bright orange t-shirts, attended the Thursday hearing. Cathy Hobart, a developmental psychologist and mother of six, testified against the bill. She said the 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School galvanized her to action, as the two students killed and 14 injured were around the same age as her own youngest children.

“All of you sitting here should know that it could be your family too, but unlike me, you actually have the power to do something to protect our young people, or at the very least, not make our communities more dangerous,” Hobart said.

She said that 18 to 20 year olds don’t have the developmental capacity to carry a gun without training. Hobart said youth violence is an issue in the state, and this bill wouldn’t help.

“Today, you’re deciding to allow their peers to carry loaded concealed weapons at parties, at the park, at the mall, at the parade, at the festival on the street,” Hobart said. “You know it is dangerous, and you know this is wrong.”

The legislation would not change the fact that citizens cannot carry guns into schools or courthouses. Concealed carry is also prohibited in the state Capitol, excluding lawmakers.

Senate President Robert Stivers, a Republican from Manchester, is one of the bill’s cosponsors. He said that the state recognizes teenagers as ready to enter military service, and therefore should be allowed to carry concealed weapons like older Kentucky adults can.

“I got a call that my 19-year-old son had decided to leave two years of electrical engineering and enlist in The United States Marines, and that May I put him on a bus with $20 bill, a bible and his driver’s license,” Stivers said. “I think those instances show that we have within the recognition of the United States government and the state that teenagers are able to defend our country, and therefore they should be able to purchase a weapon and carry it as any other adult.”

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.