This was supposed to be The Year of the Gun in Florida’s Capitol as lawmakers advanced a raft of high-profile and highly-controversial firearm bills, but on Thursday a key senator said he does not plan to allow one of the pro-gun bills to get a hearing in his committee and cast doubts on another.

The decision by Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, not to schedule a hearing on legislation sponsored by Sarasota GOP Rep. Greg Steube that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses means the bill likely is dead for the 2016 session.

Diaz de la Portilla chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, the next stop for the campus-carry bill and another bill that would do away with concealed carry altogether and allow weapons to be openly displayed in public.

“We’re not going to hear campus carry,” said Diaz de la Portilla, adding: “I think there are better ways to address the issue of campus safety and security. I think the dangers outweigh the potential and perceived benefits of passing a bill.”

The senator also implied that that the open-carry bill is unlikely to advance in its current form, saying he plans to schedule a hearing on the legislation but expects it to be amended.

“I’m not saying I support guns publicly displayed,” he said. “The main reason (for the hearing) is that I think there are going to be some good amendments coming forward on that one.”

Diaz de la Portilla said an amendment proposed by the Florida Sheriffs Association that would keep concealed carry in place but make it clear that accidentally displaying a weapon in public is not a crime “sounds like a reasonable compromise.”

The amendment is staunchly opposed by the National Rifle Association and others who say it will gut the bill.

The Senate sponsor of the campus-carry bill, Baker Republican Greg Evers, said he was “deeply saddened” the legislation won’t get a hearing but added that “this is a process by which strange things happen” and “nothing is dead till the hankie drops,” referring to the formal end of the annual state legislative session.

Lawmakers could try to amend the campus-carry language to the open-carry bill if it advances, or find other ways to revive the legislation, but the announcement by Diaz de la Portilla significantly lowered the bill’s chances for passing this session.

Supporters of campus carry argue the legislation would help prevent school shootings by providing another line of defense on campuses in the form of students and teachers carrying concealed weapons. But many students, faculty members, college presidents and campus police chiefs oppose the legislation.

“A lightly or untrained person trying to draw a gun in a high-stakes situation is not going to contribute to the safety of our campus,” said Florida State University faculty union president Matthew Lata, a music professor who participated in a press conference denouncing the campus-carry bill shortly before Diaz de la Portilla’s announcement.

While opponents of campus carry cheered the decision not to hear the bill, they warned that the legislation could be revived at the last minute and expressed concerns that open carry is still advancing.

Evers said the open carry legislation is “even more important to me” and was glad to hear it will get a hearing, but he opposes the amendment pitched by the sheriffs’ group, which is against the open-carry bill in its current form.

That amendment would add more protection for concealed carry permit holders who accidentally display their weapons but “stops short of Florida becoming a complete open-carry state” according to an association press release.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in the press release that “full-blown” open carry “creates significant public safety challenges for law enforcement.”

“My reaction to the sheriffs’ proposal is not only no, but hell no,” said National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer. “They’ve had five years to do this, to correct problems they knew exist.”

But Diaz de la Portilla seems intent on amending the open carry bill, saying “the idea of non-law enforcement walking around with handguns at their waist” in highly populated areas such as downtown Miami would present a jarring “visual impact” that could hurt tourism.

Florida has been nicknamed the “Gunshine State” because of the Legislature’s friendliness toward pro-gun bills, but the Senate has traditionally taken a less aggressive approach than the more conservative House.

Diaz de la Portilla is a moderate Republican who represents an urban district that — according to data provided by Democratic consultant Matthew Isbell — shifted from a toss-up seat to one that leans Democratic in presidential years under the Senate’s new redistricting map, which became final this week when Senate leaders announced they will not appeal a circuit court ruling.

Diaz de la Portilla also killed the campus-carry bill last year by refusing to hear it in his committee. He plans to bring up the open-carry bill for debate in the Judiciary Committee in two weeks.

“We’re going to have an ample discussion and all sides will be able to make their views known,” he said.