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When Missouri college students head off to class next fall with their backpacks crammed with school supplies, a cell phone and perhaps an MP3 player, they might have the option to stuff a handgun in there, too.

Currently, the boards that govern university campuses have the discretion to allow individuals to carry guns on campus, but a bill passed by the Missouri House on Thursday seeks to make it a legal right. Law enforcement associations are opposing the measure.

By a vote of 105-50, the House approved a bill that would allow people with concealed-carry endorsements to wear firearms on college campuses. Some speakers Thursday said they thought the guns on campus provision would be eliminated in the Senate.

The bill, HB 668, also lays out more places where Missourians can defend their homes and properties with use of force, but Rep. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, successfully amended the bill to include the provision on firearms at higher education institutions.

The bill sponsor, Rep. Kenny Jones, R-Clarksburg, supported the change, saying campuses would become less attractive targets to terrorists if it's known that people can carry guns there.

"There was a lot of apprehensiveness," Mr. Jones said of feedback he's received on the amendment. "But this is to make it safer."

According to the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, it won't make anyone safer. In a statement released last year, the association said that guns used in self-defense is a rare occurrence.

"Of the 30,694 Americans who died by gunfire in 2005, only 147 were killed by firearms in justifiable homicides by private citizens," according to a release from the IACLEAS board of directors.

In floor debate Thursday, Rep. Ed Wildberger, D-St. Joseph, asked Mr. Jones if he'd ever heard of an incident where a "group of terrorists have shot a university."

"I think in Russia," Mr. Jones answered.

"They have different gun laws than we have anyway," Mr. Wildberger responded.

A former firefighter accustomed to emergency situations, Mr. Wildberger said the legislature is asking for trouble if the amendment makes it into law.

He said recent attacks on college campuses have come from former students with mental illnesses, not organized terrorist groups.

"I think it's just adding to the problem," said Mr. Wildberger, the only local lawmaker to vote against the change.

Local representatives who voted "yes" on the amendment were all Republicans. Those included Casey Guernsey of Bethany, Dr. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, Mike Thomson of Maryville, Jason Brown of Platte City, Mike Lair of Chillicothe and Jim Guest of King City.

Rep. Martin Rucker, D-St. Joseph, was absent with leave.

Supporters say those who obtain concealed-carry endorsements generally are law-abiding citizens and pose no additional danger to the higher education community.

"My sister is going to college in two years," Mr. Guernsey said. "I would much rather see her walk in and get a gun and be educated to carry a gun ... than run the risk of being attacked. It's a matter of defense. It's a matter of education."

Clarence Green, president of the Missouri Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and director of campus safety at Northwest Missouri State University, is not in favor of the law. MACLEA took a stance against the law in February.

Mr. Green said Thursday that college campuses struggle with alcohol issues, and bringing a gun into the mix would pose obvious problems. There are also training issues to consider when carrying a gun.

"There is no statistical data out there that says carrying concealed weapons lowers crime," he said.

At Missouri Western, sophomore Natasha Boyer said she doesn't always feel safe now, and that adding gun-toting people on campus would make her rethink her place in Missouri colleges.

"I'd go to a different state," she said.

Jon Bond, also a student at Western, said he wouldn't carry a gun if the law goes through. But he thinks other students who would feel safer carrying a gun shouldn't be denied.

"As long as there is no criminal record, there shouldn't be a problem with it," he said.