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A push for gun rights including a stand your ground bill that drew a packed hearing at the Minnesota Legislature did not get a bill to the governors desk.

Both proponents and opponents of gun-rights bills expected strong backing this year, given that Republicans had just taken control of both houses.

But Republican leaders of key committees say they didnt want to push the bills when they were also working to craft a $46 billion budget for the state. They also anticipated strong opposition from DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, who has vetoed similar legislation in the past.

From a global perspective, the Senate didnt take it up, and the governor doesnt seem interested. Do you really want to take it up in a budget year? said Tony Cornish, a strong gun-rights advocate who chairs the Houses public safety committee.

The bills received a hearing in Cornishs public safety committee, but none in the Senate.

Why waste a lot of political capital on something that wont pass? asked Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, through which a gun bill would likely have to pass. Dayton had vetoed bills like the ones lawmakers worked on this year in the past, and said this years measures would meet a similar fate.

The author of the gun-rights bills that received a hearing, Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, said he was very disappointed that the Senate didnt move on the bill. Im just surprised that a duo Republican Legislature wouldnt move it at this time.

And Bryan Strawser of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which lobbies for gun rights, said there are a lot of people in House and Senate that have made campaign promises that will be held accountable in 2018.

Strawsers group endorsed Limmer in 2016, and gave him an A grade for his positions.

Hes been very disappointing when it comes to delivering. But prior to now, hes had an impeccable track record, Strawser said.

The Rev. Nancy Nord Bence, executive director of Protect Minnesota, a gun-control advocacy group, said her group mobilized its base eight times this year including four rallies.

She expressed exuberance that the bills hadnt made it to either full House or Senate votes in 2017, but quickly added, We have to remember theyre viable for another year.

And when it came to opposing legislation, Its also an utter defeat for the three gun-prevention bills that didnt even get a hearing.

The two bills that received a hearing this year include a constitutional carry bill, which would have eliminated the need for a gun permit on public property entirely in most cases, and the stand your ground bill, which would have expanded the types of incidents in which it is legal to take another persons life.

Current law allows a Minnesotan to use lethal force to stop a felony in their own homes. The stand your ground bill would have allowed lethal force to stop a variety of felonies, whether the potential victim was at home or not. In a home, a person could also have used deadly force in incidents they believed in good faith were required to succeed in defense.

Both bills received a hearing in Cornishs committee, but never got any further. Proponents of the stand your ground legislation were anticipating a floor vote of the entire House in the Legislatures final days, but that never materialized.

Legislation similar to the stand your ground bill reached the governors desk in 2012. At the time, Dayton said he opposed it due to strong concerns from the law enforcement community.

The hometown of Rep. Jim Nash has been corrected in this story.

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Minnesota gun rights legislation fails to get far, despite Republican legislative control - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press