A Senate committee voted Monday in favor of a bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons.

Three Republicans on the Senate Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy Committee approved the proposal, adding a few changes that address some of the public’s concerns before voting on it. These changes include permitting private businesses, churches and homeowners to prohibit concealed weapons.

Sen. David Zien, R-Eau Claire, committee chairman and one of the bill’s authors, said these modifications clarify private property rights.

“This piece of legislation will save lives,” Zien said of his proposal to lift Wisconsin’s 130-year-old ban on carrying concealed weapons.

Under the amendments, churches and businesses would have to post 11-by-11 inch signs near the primary entrance to inform parishioners and customers they cannot carry concealed weapons on the premises in order to comply with the proposed law.

However, the legislation does not specify what the sign must say.

“I have always believed that citizens should have the right to protect themselves and their families,” Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, co-author of the bill, said in a statement. “The whole point of this bill is to give that right back to the people.”

The committee also amended the bill to allow employers to prohibit employees with licenses to carry concealed weapons in the course of their jobs, but the amendments prohibit employers from telling employees they cannot carry weapons in their automobiles.

Backers of the bill argue it would make Wisconsin a safer place, but opponents contend the legislation allows too much room for accidents and increases in crime.

The two Democrats on the committee, Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, and Sen. Gary George, D-Milwaukee, were not in attendance. However, George said he does not support the bill the way it now stands.

“Because of the issues of gun violence and the concerns of the district attorney and police in Milwaukee, [Sen. George] believes it is the best thing for his Senate district not to support this legislation at this time,” George’s spokesman Daniel Pantages said in a statement.

George said additional amendments are necessary before he would support this bill on the floor.

The concealed carry legislation would allow Wisconsin residents age 21 or older who have completed a 22-hour firearms training course, who are not incompetent and who are not drug dependent to carry concealed weapons.

The law would also require anyone carrying a concealed weapon to receive a $75 permit from a county sheriff’s department.

The bill would need approval from both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle to become law.

If Wisconsin passes SB 214 or its counterpart AB 444, it would become the 46th state to allow its residents the ability to carry a concealed weapon. Colorado, New Mexico and Minnesota have all enacted similar concealed weapons laws this year.

However, Doyle has been opposed to the measure and is expected to veto the bill should it reach his desk.

The bill will go before the entire Senate for a vote next week.