RALEIGH -- Guns would be allowed in bars and restaurants and on school campuses under a proposal that passed a Senate vote on Tuesday. The bill would make it legal for concealed carry permit holders to keep guns in locked vehicles on university grounds.

University police chiefs across the state oppose the measure, saying college campuses are among the safety place in any community. Chief Jamie Herring from UNC-Greensboro says that “the idea that a civilian with a concealed carry permit somehow can take the place of trained law enforcement officers…it doesn’t hold water."

Many North Carolinians also disagree with the new bill. Gail Neely from North Carolinians Against Gun Violence says, “90 percent of the people in North Carolina have been polled to show that they support stronger gun regulation…that’s gun owners, hunters, its carry-concealed weapons people…and it’s non-gun owners.”

Supporters of the bill say that because of the high crime rates on and around campuses, the bill is a necessary step toward allowing gun owners to protect themselves. Paul Valone of Grassroots North Carolina says, “We’ve been trying for many years to get a provision under which concealed handgun permit holders who’ve proven themselves sane, sober, and law-abiding, to protect themselves in restaurants, on educational property, and elsewhere.”

Private colleges would be allowed to ban guns, but the law would apply to schools in the UNC system.