After gearing up for a big legislative fight on the Senate floor, state lawmakers postponed debate Friday on a contentious gun-control proposal to ban the manufacture, sale and purchase of guns that use detachable magazines.
The main sponsors of , Democratic Sens. Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver, said the delay is because negotiations with the governor鈥檚 office over the measure are ongoing.
鈥淲e're working our way through it, and when we get finished, we鈥檒l be in a positive place, and we'll get that to his desk for him to sign,鈥� Sullivan said Friday morning.
Gov. Jared Polis this week he has yet to decide whether he would sign the bill if it鈥檚 passed by the legislature. He is generally skeptical of policies that target specific models of firearms.
But the governor said he鈥檚 not completely opposed to the measure because it would not impact any guns Coloradans already own.
鈥淟ike the sponsors, the governor takes preventing gun violence seriously which is why we appreciate the additional time to work together on this important issue,鈥� a spokesperson said in a text message Friday.
The sponsors are working on amending the bill to alleviate Polis鈥� concerns and bring him fully on board. were already added to the bill during a committee hearing last month.
鈥淚 appreciate any and every opportunity to have conversations with the governor's team about the importance of passing this policy that will save lives,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淲e've been having several conversations, several times a day.鈥�
Gonzales and Sullivan hope the negotiations will be resolved within a week and currently plan to bring it up for debate in the Senate on Thursday.
But support for the bill has been chipped away. One Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Marc Snyder of Manitou Springs, now says he won鈥檛 vote for the measure, citing doubts over its reach and concerns from his constituents.
Sponsors still believe Senate Bill 3 has enough support to make it out of the Senate. Of the chamber鈥檚 23 Democrats, 19 have signaled they plan to vote 鈥測es鈥� on it. All of the chamber鈥檚 12 Republicans are expected to vote against it. It needs 18 votes to pass.
With those numbers, Republicans can鈥檛 block it from passing, but they are expected to fight it as much as possible through extended debate on the Senate floor.
鈥淚t might be a long night,鈥� Senate President James Coleman said earlier this week, 鈥渂ut at the same time, I think we've had conversations to try to find areas where we can agree and align.鈥�
If the measure gets through the Senate, it then moves over to the more progressive-leaning House of Representatives, where sponsors say they鈥檝e lined up enough support to pass it. However, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, said she is undecided on her vote.
