A decision by Georgia lawmakers to loosen the state’s gun laws has led to a controversy over whether people can legally carry covered guns in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the nation’s most crowded airport, hosting more than 84 million passengers a year.

A Georgia firearm rights faction filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Atlanta on Tuesday after airport officials said, in a press conference, they would keep on enforcing a ban on hidden weapons in the terminal, regardless of the changes to the state law. The modifications, which were agreed to by the Georgia legislature in the spring and took effect on Tuesday, relax the state’s weapon carry prohibition on public transportation and in some other areas, including restaurants serving alcohol. Benjamin R. DeCosta, the airport director, said the changes fitted in only to public transportation like buses and the city subway and were not meant to permit people to have guns on them at the airport. DeCosta said that making it possible for civilians to carry concealed guns in the terminal, of which millions of travelers benefit each year, would raise serious problems for the police and airport security employees.

“We want to make sure the airport is safe and secure,” DeCosta said. He added that airports had already been targeted by terrorists and that “there should be no ambiguity to law enforcement as to whether people should be carrying weapons here.” Attorneys for the city of Atlanta, the airport owner, had concluded that the changes to the law did not mean a change to the airport’s ban on guns, pointed out DeCosta.

Republican State Rep. Timothy Bearden is the promoter of the law that went into effect Tuesday allowing licensed Georgia gun owners to carry their firearms in public places. In his opinion, public places include the main lobby, ticketing areas and restaurants of Georgia airports.

Atlanta officials, including the mayor, police chief and general manager of the airport, have strongly manifested against the new law.