If the liability bill is passed this afternoon, it will go to a conference committee wherein bipartisan representatives from the Senate and the House will negotiate as to revised versions that they think will pass their respective branches of the legislature (i.e., the House members will consider the House requirements, and the Senate will consider the Senate's). Ordinarily, new provisions are not to be permitted to be added to a bill in conference.
Provided that the conference committee can reach an agreement on a single bill, each portion of the committee (House and Senate representatives) will submit a report to their branches, and the conference bill will be submitted to a straight up-and-down vote. If it passes both houses, it will be presented to the President for his signature or veto.
The AW ban could be stripped in the conference committee, as could McCain's Gun Show amendment that has been added (yep - the one that bans PRIVATE SALES at gun shows). I believe that the House leadership's stance on the AW ban will win out; politicians will understand that DeLay would not do a 180 degree turn (he can not, without losing face). But, this means that the other provisions (e.g., gun show language) may stay in, and the House may feel itself lucky if it can pass the liability and gun show provisions without the AW ban.
All politicians have two mutually reinforcing goals:
1. To remain in power; and,
2. To do favors for their friends.
The Dems have now done a favor for all the anti-gun groups out there. The Repubs have attempted to do a favor for the gun manufacturers and pro-gun groups, and this now hangs in the balance.
My prediction: The Senate Dems and 10 turncoat Repubs have effectively torpedoed the gun liability bill. If the gun show and AW language is not stripped, the House will not pass it. If that language is stripped, the Senate will not pass it. Either way, the AW ban will not be renewed.
