To All,
There are going to be very good ideas regarding gun rights and very bad ideas regarding gun rights sometime in the next several monthes. We all need to be very wary of any proposed changes until legislation either dies or is signed by POTUS.
The problem is the Conference Committee (CC). This is a committee that has the job of "reconciling" differences between a House Bill and a Senate Bill. Baring some minor details the CC can do almost anything it wants once it is sitting.
As an analogy the House could pass a Bill ordering "steak and potatoes" for dinner while the Senate passes a Bill ordering "lobster and rice pilaff" for dinner. The two (2) Bills go to the CC and it decides to order "pizza & beer" for dinner. Now vote. By now everyone is hungry and it becomes an up/down vote.
The CC can add almost anything and take out almost anything in order to make it the same potential Law.
My point is that there is tremendous risk remaining to 2A attacks (and support) until after we see what comes out of the CC. So be very careful about being too happy or relieved if something doesn't pass. It might be reintroduced in a different manner once the CC gets its hands on it. There is no binding power upon the CC. Normally the CC won't butcher a Bill so badly that it knows won't pass the legislature, but back room political deals can allow for some awfully wide swings. This is why Sen McCain voted against his own McCain-Feingold Bill! He claimed it wasn't what he wanted and he was right. The CC is a very powerful and necessary tool to make two (2) different Bills one.
If any legal scholars can clarify or correct my work feel free to jump in. I am just trying to remind ya'll "it ain't over till it's over."
Regards,
Doug
There are going to be very good ideas regarding gun rights and very bad ideas regarding gun rights sometime in the next several monthes. We all need to be very wary of any proposed changes until legislation either dies or is signed by POTUS.
The problem is the Conference Committee (CC). This is a committee that has the job of "reconciling" differences between a House Bill and a Senate Bill. Baring some minor details the CC can do almost anything it wants once it is sitting.
As an analogy the House could pass a Bill ordering "steak and potatoes" for dinner while the Senate passes a Bill ordering "lobster and rice pilaff" for dinner. The two (2) Bills go to the CC and it decides to order "pizza & beer" for dinner. Now vote. By now everyone is hungry and it becomes an up/down vote.
The CC can add almost anything and take out almost anything in order to make it the same potential Law.
My point is that there is tremendous risk remaining to 2A attacks (and support) until after we see what comes out of the CC. So be very careful about being too happy or relieved if something doesn't pass. It might be reintroduced in a different manner once the CC gets its hands on it. There is no binding power upon the CC. Normally the CC won't butcher a Bill so badly that it knows won't pass the legislature, but back room political deals can allow for some awfully wide swings. This is why Sen McCain voted against his own McCain-Feingold Bill! He claimed it wasn't what he wanted and he was right. The CC is a very powerful and necessary tool to make two (2) different Bills one.
If any legal scholars can clarify or correct my work feel free to jump in. I am just trying to remind ya'll "it ain't over till it's over."
Regards,
Doug
