Rep. Michael Paymar, a Democrat from St. Paul who authored the “Gun Violence Prevention Act,” said he was “very disappointed and very angry” that the proposal was no longer moving toward a vote on the House floor. “I think this is the kind of thing that really makes the public cynical about politicians and about the political process,” he said.

After debating a bill to expand background checks to gun shows, private sales and online sales for nearly two hours Wednesday morning, the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee reconvened in the evening only for a moment to lay over the bill instead of taking a vote, leaving the fate of background checks hanging in limbo.