Dingell brought 44 Democrats with him in his effort to beat back a Senate bill that would impose a three-day waiting period for gun purchases at gun shows. He complained to associates about the "heat" he was feeling from outraged Democrats, a majority of whom were baffled by Dingell's insistence on sparing Republicans the onus of reducing the proposed wait to 24 hours. His Michigan colleague, Rep. John Conyers, who was leading the Democrats in the debate on the juvenile justice bill and its gun amendments, comes from an adjoining congressional district with a similar mix of country and city voters, including furious mothers who are more concerned about protecting the schoolroom than the gun show. "I cannot explain what my colleague is doing," Conyers told the House in a floor speech.