JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri Republican lawmaker is taking the debate on gun rights to cities with a proposal to allow firearms on buses and trains.

The measure comes months after voters approved a state constitutional amendment declaring the right to bear arms is “unalienable” and that laws restricting gun rights are subject to “strict scrutiny.”

Republican Rep. Ron Hicks says his bill to permit guns on public transit could increase safety, despite concerns raised by state public transportation systems that it could do the opposite.

University of Missouri-St. Louis political scientist David Kimball says support for the bill likely would be weakest in urban areas, where public transit is most common.