"We put a blue calendar on the desk every single day and every one of those bills is eligible for debate," Upmeyer said. "So I don’t know how they were double-crossed. If we hadn't put it on the blue calendar and (we) wanted to suspend the rules that would be double-crossing them."

McCarthy insists Democrats had been led to believe the constitutional amendment and so-called "Castle Doctrine" giving Iowans the right to defend themselves would not be debated today.

But when the parties went into their routine closed-door meetings to discuss pending legislation, McCarthy said, he was told that the gun bills would be debated "whether we like it or not."

"I said 'You will not be debating it today,'" McCarthy said. "We've been betrayed. We are in protest leaving the building now."

"None of that is accurate," Upmeyer said about McCarthy's recollection of events.

She had indicated to McCarthy there were several non-controversial bills on the blue calendar "and we could certainly caucus on those and certainly be ready for debate," Upmeyer said.

"We hadn't caucused. I said 'I'll let you know when we're done caucusing,'" she said, noting that Democrats have filed amendments to those bills.