COLUMBUS, Ohio -A legislative panel on Wednesday advanced a bill that would allow concealed handgun permit holders to avoid prison when they're caught in gun-free zones, despite most testimony objecting to the measure.

The House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee voted 9 to 3, mostly along party lines, to advance to the chamber's floor House Bill 233, sponsored by Republican Rep. John Becker, R-Union Township.

The bills could be considered on the House floor Thursday if lawmakers return to vote on whether to override Gov. John Kasich's budget vetoes. The bill could also be considered after they return from their summer recess.

The bill was one of three gun measures considered by the lawmakers. The committee did not vote on two other bills, as its chairwoman, Rep. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, said more work was needed to improve them and they won't be considered until after the legislature's summer recess.

House Bill 233

Members of the military and concealed handgun licensees wouldn't be charged with a crime for carrying a concealed weapon in a gun-free zone, such as a school, if they leave when asked.

If permit holders refuse to leave, they face a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, punishable by up to 30 days behind bars and a $250 fine -- a lighter sentence from the current fifth-degree felony charge that carries up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce opposed the measure, along with the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and a number of other groups and private citizens.

The bill strips business owners of their private property rights to decide whether they want concealed weapons in their establishments, said Don Boyd of the Chamber of Commerce.

"House Bill 233 goes far beyond the, 'I forgot' scenario," he said, since it allows people to knowingly enter a business with a concealed weapon without punishment.

Becker, however, pushed back on that assumption. It's tough for a prosecutor to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone intended to enter a gun-free business with a handgun, Becker said.

"This is a subtle difference," he said.

Prosecutors said that they'd oppose the bill in its current form, but would be willing to work with lawmakers to create a distinction between people who unwittingly enter a business with a concealed firearm and those who do it intentionally, despite knowing it was not allowed.

The Republican majority on the committee was encouraged by prosecutors" offer of help.

"I am committed to working with the interested parties, particularly the prosecutors," Becker said.

HB 142

Wooster Republican Rep. Scott Wiggam's bill would excuse concealed carry holders from informing police they have a weapon when they're stopped.

Marian Harris, a former state lawmaker who testified on behalf of Ohioans for Safe Communities, said her group was opposed to the measure.

"It would endanger law enforcement officers for the sake of providing a minor convenience to concealed carry holders," she said.

Fewer people testified on the measures that the lawmakers did not vote on.

John Hohenwarter of the National Rifle Association said at the beginning of the meeting that the same organizations repeatedly oppose gun-right measures.

"A lot of the people who are here today are people who are opposing conceal carry, period," he said.

HB 201

The bill, sponsored by Republican Reps. Ron Hood of Ashville and Tom Brinkman of Cincinnati, also would repeal the state requirement that concealed weapons holders notify police that they're carrying a gun.

It also expands other conceal carry rights. It would allow adults age 21 and older to carry a concealed firearm without obtaining a concealed handgun license, unless they're prohibited under federal law. All legal firearms would be allowed, not just handguns.

Rep. David Leland, a Democratic from Columbus who opposed the bill, said that the measure would ax the state's requirement of eight hours of training for concealed carry holders.

Rosie Craig, a private citizen who opposed all three bills, reminded lamwakers they were meeting in a room at the Statehouse named after President James Garfield, an Ohioan who was assassinated.

"He was taken away from us by a madman with delusional grudge who carried a large barrel concealed pistol," she said.

But Springfield Republican Rep. Kyle Koehler challenged Craig: "Would any of these bills have prevented this man who you described as delusional from killing President Garfield?"

Craig argued more data on concealed carry holders is needed and said she began fighting for victims' rights when her daughter's friend was fatally shot in 1999.