Lawmakers in the Colorado state House are spending their Thursday afternoon, evening and potentially into early Friday morning debating over a proposal to establish a three-day waiting period for purchasing firearms. 

But most of the talking is being done by Republicans, who are engaged in a lengthy filibuster as an attempt to persuade Democrats to either water down the legislation or get rid of it entirely.

Both outcomes are unlikely.

But the filibuster is also turning into an elaborate game of chicken. 

Here’s why: Should the debate continue past midnight, a final vote on the bill would not be allowed under state law to be taken on Friday. That means its first chance for final passage would be on Saturday.

Here’s the complication: Saturday also happens to be the day that Republicans will gather in Loveland to elect a new party chair. All of the Republican lawmakers are part of the state party central committee that would elect that new leader. Should Democrats decide to call a Saturday session to vote on HB 1219 – or tackle any other business they decide to put on the calendar – under the rules, Republicans would have to be granted approval to be excused to attend the meeting in Loveland, a highly unlikely prospect, and would be required to be at the Capitol for the Saturday session. 

The debate on House Bill 1219 began around 1:15 p.m. Thursday, when, after sponsors Reps. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder and Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, explained the bill, Republicans launched into the filibuster, now in its fourth hour and which shows no signs of slowing down.

The lead-off speaker was Rep. Kenneth DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, who spent more than an hour reading a 6,000-word treatise on why the bill is unconstitutional, penned by Dave Kopel, the research director for the Independence Institute. 

Filibusters historically have served several purposes: Slow down the majority party’s agenda; try to kill a bill or water it down; or, to get the sponsors or opposing party leadership to come to the table to negotiate. 

Republicans are prepared to continue the debate all evening and into the night, according to sources.

Saturday sessions used to be quite the rarity, but, in the last few years, each session has had at least one Saturday day of legislative business.

The gun bill is not the only measure Democrats want to work on Thursday. They also want to tackle a proposal to allow for sites where people can access illegal drugs under supervision. 

House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, confirmed the strategy with Colorado Politics.

“We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time,” Duran said. “I want to make sure we get our work done. If it takes a Saturday, it takes a Saturday … we’ll stay until we get them done.”