Concealed handguns could be in the pockets, purses and holsters of licensed University students on campus if a recently filed bill becomes law.Identical to a bill submitted last year, House Bill 27 would allow college students, faculty and staff with a license for concealed firearms to carry them on campus. Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, filed the bill Monday. A former Plaquemines Parish sheriff, Wooton filed the measure last year and said he would re-submit the bill at every session as long as he is in the Legislature, The Times-Picayune reported on Tuesday. Last year, the bill was approved by the House Committee he chairs, 11-3, but was abandoned on the House floor after it fell seven votes shy of the 53 needed to pass. Eliminating an exception in the law that prohibits carrying firearms near schools, courthouses and governmental buildings, House Bill 199 was largely criticized by University officials last year.”This is not a bill that was supported by us, city or campus police, or students of various student organizations,” LSU System President John Lombardi told The Daily Reveille in June 2008. “We believe that there is sufficient recognition of the difficulties of implementing a bill of this type that … This will not succeed.”Chancellor Michael Martin couldn’t be reach by press time, but an official statement from the University is expected. Meg Casper, chief spokeswoman for the State Board of Regents, told The Times-Picayune on Tuesday that Higher Education Commissioner Sally Clausen has not seen the bill. “We will approach it from a campus safety perspective and not a Second Amendment — right to bear arms — issue,” Casper said. The bill states that while University officials can’t prohibit carrying firearms on campus, they would have the right to create rules or regulations about the storage of firearms, according to The Times-Picayune. The bill is designed to enhance safety for students and faculty who have the credentials to carry handguns, Wooton said last year. This year’s Legislative session begins April 27. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]