BATON ROUGE, La. (RNS) The Louisiana state Senate revived legislation Tuesday (June 15) that would allow congregants to carry concealed weapons on church property as part of a security force.

The move is the latest procedural step in an on-again, off-again fight over whether to allow mosques, synagogues and churches to authorize worshippers to carry guns.

A Senate committee had already killed a House bill to allow armed parishioners in houses of worship, but senators voted 22-9 for a separate, heavily amended House bill and sent it back to the House for another vote.

State Sen. Joe McPherson, a Democrat, seized a gun bill from the House and breathed new life into what has come to be known as the “guns-in-churches” bill.

The House bill that McPherson used increases the length of time a concealed handgun permit is valid from four years to five years, and prescribed what kind of ammunition can be used to test shooting competency of the permit holder. McPherson’s amendment kept those provisions and added the church security initiative.

As the bill returns to the House, which passed the original effort 74-18 last month, it keeps houses of worship gun-free areas unless the pastor or head of the facility allows them.

The amendment applies to any place of worship that is considered tax-exempt under federal law.

Officials of the religious institution must notify congregants of the security plan and that concealed weapons are being carried. The information must be publicly announced or published in a newsletter or bulletin.

The amended bill would prohibit carrying weapons into a church on school property, and would require eight hours of annual tactical training as well as passing the concealed weapons course and background checks for the armed members.

“This says if you have a concealed carry permit, you can take it (a firearm) with the authorization of the church leader and with the knowledge of the congregation,” McPherson said.

The sponsor of the original guns-in-churches bill, state Rep. Henry Burns, said the bill was intended to enhance the safety of worshippers, especially those in high-crime areas or where police response time is slow.