MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved a bill requiring any state laws that would infringe on the right to bear arms in the state constitution to be subject to "strict scrutiny" when reviewed by courts.

The bill, by Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, is a proposed constitutional amendment. If it passes the Senate, it would have to be approved by voters to become law. The House has already passed the bill.

Jones said “strict scrutiny” is the highest of three levels of judicial review and places the burden of proof on the government to show that a law has a compelling purpose to achieve an end.

Jones said that standard already applies to cases involving the 2nd Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. But he said strict scrutiny has not been used in cases involving the 2nd Amendment equivalent in the state constitution.

The bill was part of the "We Dare Defend Our Rights" agenda of the House Republican caucus.