Hours before Kentucky lawmakers presented bipartisan school safety legislation, a House Republican filed a bill that would let people carry guns into schools.

House Bill 30, filed by Rep. Robert Goforth, of East Bernstadt, would scrap most location restrictions for persons with a concealed deadly weapon license, meaning that guns could legally be carried into day care centers and elementary schools, as well as onto college campuses.

The bill would also abolish restrictions preventing people with concealed carry licenses from bringing guns into bars and other private businesses. Those with licenses would also be able to bring concealed weapons into meetings of the General Assembly.

"I'm trying to protect the public," Goforth told the Courier Journal on Wednesday.

Goforth said his bill is intended to address a loophole in state law, which allows individuals to carry concealed weapons into bars, restaurants and other private establishments as long as the firearms aren't loaded.

"Most people may not realize that the person next to you has a clip in his left pocket and a gun in his right pocket and there's nothing law enforcement can do about it," Goforth said. "They're already doing it, so they need to be trained, they need to be licensed and we need to hold them to a higher standard."

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Goforth, who joined the General Assembly last February, said the bill is also about leveling the playing field for lawful gun owners. Certain officials, including law enforcement officers, judges and county attorneys, are exempted from location restrictions under the state's concealed carry law.

"I want everyone to be able to protect themselves, their families and others, instead of only a select few in our society being able to do so," he said. "I don't see how one can argue that an attorney can be more qualified to carry a concealed firearm in those locations than any other person."

Goforth announced Tuesday that he would seek the Republican nomination for governor this spring. In that announcement, Goforth sought to distance himself from Gov. Matt Bevin, who has not yet filed for re-election, by saying he would lead a GOP ticket of "conservatives of the heart."

But Goforth's bill appears in lockstep with Bevin's stance on guns in schools.

A day after the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and staff dead, Bevin told the Cincinnati Enquirer that guns weren't the problem. When he went to school in New England, students would bring guns in for show-and-tell, he said.

"Sometimes they'd be in kids' lockers," Bevin said. "Nobody even thought about shooting other people with them. So it's not a gun problem."

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Forty states, including Kentucky, prohibit guns at K-12 schools, even for those with concealed carry permits, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a San Francisco-based advocacy organization.

"These restrictions are in place for a reason, and it would be reckless to strike them from Kentucky law," said David Pucino, staff attorney for the center. "It is hard to believe that anyone would be willing to put children at risk by freely allowing people off the street to carry guns in day care centers and elementary schools to score political points."

In Kentucky, individual colleges and universities decide whether guns can be carried on campus. The University of Louisville prohibits firearms.

"This ban is in place for the protection and safety of our students, faculty and staff," said John Karman, U of L spokesman.

On Wednesday afternoon, a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a separate bill to help keep kids safe at school. That legislation addresses school infrastructure needs and students’ access to mental health resources — but doesn't include gun control measures.

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For Faith Hennig, a 2018 Fern Creek High School graduate and gun control advocate, said she was disappointed in lawmakers.

"It’s sad that the conversation isn’t only still going on, it’s like it started all over again," she said.

Now a freshman at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, Hennig rallied last spring with dozens of other Kentucky students at the state Capitol to call for concrete policy changes, including a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. She also traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the student-led March for Our Lives, a national plea for stricter gun laws.

Goforth's bill, in particular, feels like a "forehead slap," said Hennig, 19.

"I don’t need Ms. Johnson, who's 88 years old, to start packing so if somebody comes in the school with a gun she can shoot him down," she said. "That’s not a healthy environment."

Reporter Morgan Watkins contributed to this story.

Mandy McLaren: 502-582-4525; mmclaren@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @mandy_mclaren. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mandym.