So you’re all probably wondering what the heck is up with the debate on the voting rights legislation. Well, it seems that the Republicans may have played a brilliant game of politics.

Towards the end of the debate, which was slated to end a little after 2 p.m., Republicans attempted to introduce an amendment to the legislation which would nullify the District’s gun laws. This isn’t anything new — they’ve tried many times before — but it may have the effect of killing the voting rights legislation.

According to a message from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office, debate on the measure has been postponed for the time being. Such a postponment could only be called by the Democrats, and they would only call it if they thought that the Republican amendment had the votes to pass. If it did, and it passed, the entire legislation might come crashing down — after all, supporters of District voting rights would similarly have to vote for doing away with the city’s gun laws, something many are loath to do.

Seriously, guys — can’t we just have a debate and an up or down vote on this? We can’t help but think that the Republicans will do anything to bring the legislation down, and probably not because they’re all gripping their copies of the Constitution in fear of the District violating it. Supporters of the legislation have called a 3:30 p.m. press conference to explain what happened and what’s next.