MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A bill that would add Alabama to the list of states that allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit advanced through the SenateJudiciary Committee on Wednesday.

The committee voted 6-3 for the bill after a fiery public hearing with law enforcement officers largely opposing it and gun rights groups speaking in favor of it. The bill now moves to the Senate floor.

Proponents argued that Alabama is an open carry state, so requiring a permit to carry a handgun under a jacket or in a purse doesn’t make sense.

“Alabama is already on open carry permit, which means a pistol can be carried openly,” said bill sponsor Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa.

Capt. Michael Salomonsky of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said the permits are crucial tools in solving crimes and help officers determine who could be a suspect.

“If our job is to protect the community, don’t take our tools,” Salomonsky said.

He said guns located because people lacked a permit have been linked to homicides and other crimes. He said without the permits, law enforcement would have no reason to detain those people.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is bad legislation. … The decision you make here today can affect lives,” Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said. Olson is president of the Alabama Sheriffs’ Association.

Sheriffs were not united against the bill, however.

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale spoke in favor of the bill, saying he believed in the Second Amendment.

“It’s an infringement for sheriffs to charge a fee for sales of permits to exercise this right. Honest law-abiding citizens who own guns must already submit to a background check at the time of purchase,” he said.

Eleven states allow people to carry concealed weapons in public without a permit, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Most of those states still issue concealed weapon permits, as would Alabama, for people who may want them to carry in other states.

The bill faces an uncertain future on the Senate floor.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, told Republicans on the committee that voting is also a right, but they don’t mind requiring people to show photo ID to exercise that right.

Singleton said he would fight the bill on the Senate floor