Senators in Louisiana, a southeastern US state, will now allow students to use bulletproof backpacks within gun-free zones at school.
As student activists participate in nationwide protests for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Florida high school shooting in February, Louisiana Senators have lifted a ban on protective armour.
The Senate amended a bill that had previously prevented the use or possession of body armour in school zones.
Republican Mike Walsworth sponsored the bill, according to CNN, and said he hoped the backpacks would never have to be used.
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"If it saves one child, that's all I would care about," Senator Walsworth told the Times-Picayune.
"I'm hoping that this backpack never has to be used."
Following the MS Douglas High School shooting in February, where a shooter killed 17 people, bulletproof backpacks were in high demand around the nation.
A Colombian company making bulletproof backpacks and vests for adults and children have reported a 400 per cent increase in sales since the beginning of the year, according to Reuters.
Bogota-based Miguel Caballero Company produces the equipment for security personnel and expanded into Miami in 2017 under the name MC Armour.
