State senators failed to muster enough votes to resurrect a measure further regulating gun ownership rights among people deemed dangerously mentally ill.
Senators originally voted the bill down in a surprise move last June after it sailed through the House virtually unscathed. They had a limited window to revisit that vote when they reconvened Tuesday to start work this year.
Attorney General Beau Biden helped author the proposal, but failed to appear at Legislative Hall for the potential debate.
Despite the defeat, Justice Department Legislative Aid Joseph Rogalski says the measure is too important to give up on.
“We’re going to do some more talking to senators and go from there. I would say that there’s a lot of misinformation and [mischaracterization] of the bill flying around out there and we obviously need to explain exactly how the bill will save lives, how it will reduce gun violence,” said Rogalski.
Representative Michael Barbieri (D-Newark) spearheaded the measure in the House last year. He says Tuesday’s outcome is partially a societal problem.
“I think it demonstrates that we have an ability to misinform and misunderstand things,' said Barbieri. "And we use fear – especially Second Amendment fear – as that kind of wedge against everything that we want to do.”
Both Barbieri and representatives from the Attorney General’s office say they will continue to work on the matter, but Barbieri doesn’t think anything will pass this year before the session ends June 30th.
Any new measure will now have to be introduced and navigate through the full legislative process.
