Amid flagging support from his own party, the Democratic sponsor of a bill banning concealed weapons on college campuses spiked his own bill Friday night on the floor of the Colorado Senate.

Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, asked that HB 1226, a bill to ban concealed weapons on campus, be postponed until May 10, two days after the end of the session. The move effectively killed the bill.

Heath read from a statement in which he cited a litany of statistics to back up his argument that guns were not safe on campuses.

“Every one time a gun is used in self-defense, it is used 11 times for suicide, seven times for homicide and used in an accident four times,” he said.

• Firearms are used in more suicides than homicides;

• Firearms account for 50 percent of all suicides; and

• Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people age 15-24;

Another statistic: 40 percent of college students admit to binge drinking. A “drunken brawl can easily turn into a shoot-out” with guns involved, Heath said.

And, while critics have argued the bill would create “rape havens” on campus, Heath dismissed this argument.

But Heath acknowledged concerns about campus safety that came to light in the committee process.

“In committee, we heard from young women, who had tragic situations on campus where they felt a gun was needed for self- defense,” Heath said, “and those who experienced that same trauma at the hands of a concealed carry gun owner.

“Campus violence is a comprehensive problem that needs comprehensive solutions, and I would like this bill to address more of the concerns raised in this debate. I look forward to working with the Republicans over the next year on solutions to campus violence including: sexual assault on college campuses and the alarming growth in suicides.”

And with that, he asked that the bill be laid over.

Four Democratic lawmakers had told The Denver Post earlier Friday that Heath planned to set the bill aside.

Republicans rejoiced at the bill’s demise.

“This was a victory for public safety and the rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs. “Criminals do not respect gun free zones, and this bill would have only worked against public safety.”

The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, said Heath told her Thursday he was concerned he didn’t have enough votes in the Senate for the bill to pass.

“I told him I would not object if he felt the wiser course was to postpone the bill in advance of debate,” Levy said Friday.

House Bill 1226 had already cleared the House and a Senate committee earlier this week amid controversial comments made by a House Democrat and one in the Senate about rape on college campuses.

Republicans had hammered Democrats over the rape remarks, jeopardizing a bill that already was in trouble. Two Democratic senators had openly said they were against it. Republicans needed only one more Democratic to kill the measure, and they said they had the votes.

The Colorado legislature in 2003 passed the Concealed Carry Act, which states a person with a permit may carry a concealed weapon “in all areas of the state,” except for a narrow list of exceptions, such as federal properties, K-12 schools, the state Capitol.

But the law didn’t include colleges, and three University of Colorado students sued in 2008 in a case that went all the way to the state Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled the CU Board of Regents overstepped its authority by banning permitted concealed weapons on campuses.

House Bill 1226 would have specifically banned concealed weapons in any building or structure used by a public institution of higher education. Further, the bill would have banned conceal-carry in any stadium or arena used by public colleges or at outdoor events on campuses.

Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626, thoover@denverpost.com or twitter.com/timhoover