It looks like there will be a showdown at the state Capitol this year over the Second Amendment.

Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, predicted in back-to-back interviews with The Gazette editorial board that there will be a political battle over gun regulations.

“Absolutely, your gun rights are going to come under attack,” Waller said. “Word on the street is that there are probably eight or 10 bills that are going to go after your gun rights in one way or another.”

He and Morse both said there will likely be bills to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, to make people pay for firearm background checks, and to make it harder for those with mental health problems to obtain guns.

Morse said there may also be a Democratic attempt to restrict firearms on college campuses, contrary to a state Supreme Court ruling that colleges can’t ban guns.

Waller said Republicans may try to add armed guards to schools across the state, a suggestion first made by the president of the National Rifle Association after the December school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.

Morse said such a bill wouldn’t solve the problem of gun violence in schools.

“I think the average police shooting is at 11 feet … and they only hit their target something like 20 percent of the time,” said Morse, a former Fountain police chief. “And these idiots are saying, if we just had somebody in the school armed we could take care of this. That’s stupid. It’s just stupid.”

The Republican and Democrat agreed that work needs to be done to make sure mentally unstable individuals can’t get their hands on firearms. And Morse said he’s spending a good deal of time trying to strike “a very tricky balance” between gun restrictions and Second Amendment rights.

While firearms are a hot-button issue, the caucus leaders agreed that the economy must be a top priority.

Senate Democrats revealed their first bill on Sunday, which would create a trio of tax credits for middle-income Coloradans. Morse estimated that under the bill, a single working mother of two who pulls in $32,000 a year could get an extra $700.

Waller said House Republicans are working on a pair of jobs bills, both tied to education.The first measure would bolster vocational training programs at community colleges, for trades such as electricians and plumbers.

The other bill is aimed at creating merit-based scholarships for college students, which Waller says would help both students and the state’s economy.

Other topics raised with Morse and Waller:

• Civil unions: Morse said he’s prepared for a fight to legalize the smae-sex unions, and Waller said he’s not clear on how the unions differ from same-sex marriage.

• Recreational marijuana sales regulations: The Legislature must take action this year, but Waller and Morse said it was premature to speculate on possible pot sales laws.

• College tuition assistance for children of illegal immigrants: A Democratic measure to help illegal students afford college, dubbed ASSET, is expected to pass easily.

• Abolishing the death penalty: Waller, a death penalty supporter, said he knows a Boulder lawmaker who will sponsor such a bill, and Morse said that as a party leader, he may be forced to support it.

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Contact John Schroyer: 476-4825Twitter: @JohnschroyerFacebook: Gazette John Schroyer

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