Kansas lawmakers are one step closer to passing a bill that could allow its citizens to carry firearms into any public building, or any where, at any time.

If this Kansas law is passed, it will open the door to looser gun laws, some critics and experts feel, and it could set a bad precedent throughout the US. Some people are in favor of the bill, while others are adamantly against it.

The legislation was approved by the house: 102 to 19; this is a day after the senate passed it 37 to 2. It is up to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who has not stated whether or not he will sign the bill, but he is a strong supporter of gun rights, and has signed other measures backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), and the Kansas State Rifle Association.

If the law is passed in Kansas City, its citizens can carry firearms anywhere. At the moment, Kansas law does not expressly forbid the open carrying of firearms, and the attorney general's office has in the past told local officials that some restrictions are allowed, the Associated Press reported. If the law is passed it will nullify/void city and county gun restrictions, making it legal to carry guns across the state line.

The NRA sees the bill, if it is passed, as a nationwide model for stripping away local officials of their gun regulating power, the USA Today reported. The current gun regulations in Kansas City are a patchwork which confuses gun owners, and it infringes on their rights.

Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat, tried, to no avail, to use the bill to amend a law enacted last year that allows people with state permits to carry their weapons into more buildings. Pettey tried to exempt libraries, community centers and community mental health centers; this would have allowed local officials to permanently ban concealed weapons at those sites, The Washington Times reported.

Pettey stated that the libraries are places where communities gather, and they are run by volunteer staff or by one person. Added Sen. Tom Holland, a Baldwin City Democrat, if we limit the powers of government, then we are taking away the power of the government from people, which creates a disservice to its citizens.

Other senators who support gun rights argue that local officials will not need to spend money on extra security once individuals are allowed to carry concealed weapons into public buildings. The measure would also prevent cities and counties from enacting restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition, or imposing rules on how guns must be stored and transported.

But Jonathan Lowy, director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and his efforts to defend gun control policies in court and oppose the lessening of existing regulations, called the Kansas measure "undemocratic."

"The gun lobby likes to prevent people who believe in sensible gun laws from having a say in protecting their own communities," Lowy said. "It's cynical, and it's dangerous public policy."