diff --git a/html-proofer.gemspec b/html-proofer.gemspec
index 11220a98..545cc6f0 100644
--- a/html-proofer.gemspec
+++ b/html-proofer.gemspec
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |gem|
   gem.add_dependency 'zeitwerk',        '~> 2.5'
 
   gem.add_development_dependency 'awesome_print'
-  # gem.add_development_dependency 'debug' # conflicts with 2.7.x
+  gem.add_development_dependency 'debug' if "#{RbConfig::CONFIG['MAJOR']}.#{RbConfig::CONFIG['MINOR']}".to_f >= 3.1
   gem.add_development_dependency 'rake'
   gem.add_development_dependency 'redcarpet'
   gem.add_development_dependency 'rspec', '~> 3.1'
diff --git a/lib/html_proofer.rb b/lib/html_proofer.rb
index 2d3b7460..8902a6b2 100644
--- a/lib/html_proofer.rb
+++ b/lib/html_proofer.rb
@@ -14,10 +14,9 @@
 require 'parallel'
 require 'fileutils'
 
-%w[awesome_print debug].each do |gem|
-  require gem
-rescue LoadError;  # rubocop:disable Lint/SuppressedException
-end
+# require 'awesome_print'
+# require 'debug'
+
 module HTMLProofer
   def self.check_file(file, options = {})
     raise ArgumentError unless file.is_a?(String)