There was an alert from GOA talking about John McCain trying to sabotage the armed pilots provision of the airline security act.  Congress is passing a bill, and I am trying to find what they did to that provision (which passed the Senate on a voice vote).  About the best I can find is from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/16/national/16AVIA.html
Buried deep within this:

The federal government could allow pilots to carry certain types of guns if the pilots received formal training and the airline approved.

"Could allow"?  This is pretty bad.  It could mean that zero pilots would end up armed, and everybody would know it.  Even if a few pilots are allowed to carry today, if an anti-gun administration comes along 3 yrs from now....

Does anybody have any more information?  I wish these stupid reporters would post a bill number.

OK, I found the bill number, it is S1447, but there are three different version of it.

A link is:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:SN01447:@@@L&summ2=m&

The relevant section summary (not the section itself) seems to be:

(Sec. 125) Flight Deck Security Act of 2001 - Authorizes the FAA to permit a pilot, co-pilot, or flight engineer of a commercial aircraft who has successfully completed specified training requirements, or who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, to carry a firearm for the protection of the aircraft. Directs the FAA to establish a voluntary program to train and supervise commercial airline pilots. Directs the Secretary to periodically report to Congress on the effectiveness of such requirements in facilitating commercial aviation safety and the suppression of terrorism by commercial aircraft.

Keep your fingers crossed... I don't know if this is the most up to date version.