It’s not a surprise, but now it’s as official as it can be: The state Assembly won’t be taking up a repeal of the SAFE Act this year.

The Assembly Codes Committee voted to “hold” a bill sponsored by Republicans that would fully rescind the state’s strict gun laws passed last year, keeping it from advancing to a new committee and effectively killing its (already incredibly slim) chances for passage this year.

The move, given the wide support the SAFE Act had from the Assembly’s Democratic majority, did not come as a surprise. But Republicans in the chamber weren’t pleased, nonetheless.

In a statement, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, Republican Assemblyman Steve Katz of Yorktown, said the “stubbornness of this place never ceases to amaze me.”

“The defeat of my repeal bill only strengthens my resolve moving forward,” Katz said in the statement. “We will repeal this law, and we will continue to push back against those who seek to remove the most basic of freedoms from us.”

The repeal bill is sponsored by Assemblyman David DiPietro, R-East Aurora, Erie County, who has been one of the SAFE Act’s harshest critics.

“What we witnessed today is the same brash arrogance that led to this law’s passage last year,” DiPietro said in a statement. “They effectively voted against every citizen who has turned out for every rally, every court case, and the United States Constitution.”

(Mike Groll/AP file photo)

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