This story was produced as a part of the Colorado Capitol Information Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.org.
After gearing up for an enormous legislative struggle on the Senate ground, state lawmakers postponed debate Friday on a proposed ban on the manufacture and sale of sure semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and handguns that may settle for removable ammunition magazines.
The primary sponsors of Senate Invoice 3, Democratic Sens. Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver, mentioned the delay is as a result of negotiations with the governor’s workplace over the measure are ongoing.
“We’re working our approach via it, and once we get completed, we’ll be in a optimistic place, and we’ll get that to his desk for him to signal,” Sullivan mentioned Friday morning.
Gov. Jared Polis instructed the Colorado Capitol Information Alliance this week he has but to resolve whether or not he would signal the invoice if it’s handed by the legislature. He’s typically skeptical of insurance policies that concentrate on particular fashions of firearms.
However the governor mentioned he’s not utterly against the measure as a result of it will not influence any weapons Coloradans already personal.
“Just like the sponsors, the governor takes stopping gun violence severely which is why we admire the extra time to work collectively on this essential subject,” a spokesperson for Polis mentioned in a textual content message Friday.
The sponsors are engaged on amending the invoice to alleviate Polis’ issues and convey him totally on board.
5 amendments had been already added to the invoice throughout a committee listening to final month, however they had been largely technical in nature.
“I admire any and each alternative to have conversations with the governor’s staff concerning the significance of passing this coverage that can save lives,” Gonzales mentioned. “We’ve been having a number of conversations, a number of instances a day.”
Gonzales and Sullivan hope the negotiations can be resolved inside per week and at present plan to convey it up for debate within the Senate on Thursday.
However assist for the invoice has been chipped away. One Democratic cosponsor, Sen. Marc Snyder of Manitou Springs, now says he received’t vote for the measure, citing doubts over its attain and issues from his constituents.
Sponsors nonetheless imagine Senate Invoice 3 has sufficient assist to make it out of the Senate. Of the chamber’s 23 Democrats, 19 have signaled they plan to vote “sure” on it. All the chamber’s 12 Republicans are anticipated to vote in opposition to it.
The invoice wants 18 votes to move.
With these numbers, Republicans can’t block it from passing, however they’re anticipated to struggle it as a lot as attainable via prolonged debate on the Senate ground.
“It is likely to be a protracted night time,” Senate President James Coleman mentioned earlier this week, “however on the similar time, I feel we’ve had conversations to attempt to discover areas the place we will agree and align.”
If the measure will get via the Senate, it then strikes over to the extra progressive-leaning Colorado Home of Representatives, the place sponsors say they’ve lined up sufficient assist to move it.
Nevertheless, Home Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, mentioned she is undecided on her vote.
Polis instructed The Solar final month that whereas a ban on the manufacture and sale of sure semiautomatic firearms with a detachable ammunition journal isn’t his most well-liked technique of tackling gun violence, he’s not essentially against the thought.
Polis mentioned he thinks the state’s focus “needs to be on weapons utilized in crime,” which is why his precedence firearm invoice on the Capitol this yr targets stolen weapons. However he’s not uniformly against the invoice because it doesn’t prohibit the possession of any weapons and thus wouldn’t have an effect on weapons individuals already personal.
“I’m not solely certain why the legislature desires to mess around with totally different gun fashions,” he mentioned. “Actually at all times a pink line for me has been don’t have an effect on issues that individuals have already got. This proposal clearly clears that.”
The governor mentioned in deciding whether or not to signal or veto the invoice he desires “to ensure it doesn’t intervene with authorized, law-abiding gun house owners in our state for looking, for house protection or sport.”
Colorado Solar employees author Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
This story was produced by the Capitol Information Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC Information, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Solar, and shared with Rocky Mountain Neighborhood Radio and different information organizations throughout the state. Funding for the Alliance is supplied partially by the Company for Public Broadcasting.
