FOX NEWS 2 Hours Ago Ex-South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford wins old House seat back after scandal CHARLESTON, S.C. –  Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has redeemed a political career sidelined by scandal by winning his old congressional seat. Sanford defeated Elizabeth Colbert Busch Tuesday in the state's 1st Congressional District. Colbert Busch is the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert. With 71 percent of precincts reporting, Sanford has 54 percent of the vote. At one time, Sanford was mentioned as a possible GOP presidential contender. But his career unraveled when, as governor four years ago, he disappeared for five days, telling his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He returned to admit he had been in Argentina with his mistress. Sanford later paid a $70,000 ethics fine, the largest in state history. Sanford has never lost a political race.

 THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM 9 Hours Ago Reps. Israel and Rangel Introduce Plastic Magazine Ban, Extended Plastic Gun Ban by  Nick Leghorn Posted on May 7, 2013 by Nick Leghorn In the wake of Cody Wilson's  newly released and operational 3D printed firearm , gun control advocates are all aflutter. The idea that someone can print a gun at home without a background check is, as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) puts it, " stomach-churning ." They can seem themselves losing control of the proliferation of firearms in the hands of citizens, and they're striking back. Representatives Steve Israel and Charles Rangel (both D-NY) introduced a bill ( H.R. 1474 ) that would expand the "Undetectable Firearms Act" (passed  because of a movie , out of fear that Glock handguns could slip through security checkpoints), and add provisions that might put Magpul and other plastic magazine manufacturers out of business. Here are the main points of the proposed legislation . . ...

 BUSINESSWEEK 7 Hours Ago Good News on Gun Violence Could Shape Gun-Control Debate by  Paul M. Barrett Good news on gun violence reductions could undercut renewed demands for tougher gun control. A Justice Department report slated for official release in July shows that firearm-related homicides have declined 39 percent since 1993, while nonfatal gun crimes dropped an even more impressive 69 percent. This unmistakably positive news could take some of the impetus out of a Democratic push for tougher federal gun restrictions. The  report , entitled "Firearm Violence, 1993-2011," and dated July 5, 2013, was made available online by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an arm of the Justice Department. Neither agency explained the timing of the release. "The number of U.S. homicides has been falling for two decades, but America has become no less violent." The report does not address any implications it might have for the gun-control debate. The fin...

 REASON MAGAZINE 6 Hours Ago Gun Control Would Address Declining Crime Rates With Irrelevant Laws Bureau of Justice StatisticsIt's honestly a strange time for politicians to push ever-tighter restrictions on gun controls. Even if you're the sort of person who thinks that everybody's personal liberty should be restricted if somebody, somewhere, misbehaves, a  report  released today by the Bureau of Justice Statistics makes it apparent that crimes committed with firearms continue their steady, two-decade decline. In terms of specific policy, the recent focus on restricting "assault weapons" makes no sense in an environment in which the preferred weapon for committing those diminishing crimes is the handgun. And the recent obsession with extending background checks on people making legal gun purchases is a true head-scratcher, since most criminals don't buy their guns legally, with fewer than one percent acquiring their weapons at much-demonized gun shows....

 POLITICO.COM 5 Hours Ago D.C. police: Armed protesters face arrest by  Kevin Robillard The District of Columbia's police chief said Tuesday officers would arrest marchers who plan to openly carry rifles into the city in violation of District law. "Passing into the District of Columbia with loaded firearms is a violation of the law and we'll have to treat it as such," Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier said on  NewsChannel 8 . Continue Reading "We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny" Text Size Libertarian activist and radio host Adam Kokesh is organizing a July 4 march into D.C., which he hopes to feature 1,000 gun-toting Americans marching from Arlington National Cemetery into the city and passing the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court. "We will march with rifles loaded...

 MOTHER JONES 5 Hours Ago Kansas Gun Law Looks Like a Trojan Horse for a Commerce Clause Challenge by  Kevin Drum Once again, I haven't been paying attention. I knew that Kansas had  passed a law saying that any law which "violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas." It was a silly piece of legislation since it begs the question of just  who  decides whether a law violates the Constitution, but in any case, it all seemed vague enough that I didn't pay it much mind. But it turns out that the Kansas statute isn't as vague as I thought.  It also says  that the federal government is forbidden from enforcing any law regarding "a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately and owned in the state of Kansas and that remains within the borders of Kansas." This is (a) quite specific, and (b) pretty obviously not something ...

 THEBLAZE.COM 6 Hours Ago Biden Wants Pastors, Rabbis and Nuns to Tell Their Flocks: Enacting More Gun Control Is the Moral Thing to Do by  Billy Hallowell WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — Vice President Joe Biden has a commandment for pastors, rabbis and nuns: He wants them to tell their flocks that enacting gun control is the moral thing to do. But another vote may have to wait until Congress wraps up work on an immigration overhaul. Biden met for two-and-a-half hours Monday with more than a dozen leaders from various faith communities – Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh, to name a few. Both Biden and the faith leaders encouraged each other not to give up on what has been an arduous and thus far fruitless effort by Biden and President Barack Obama to pass new gun laws in the wake of December's schoolhouse shooting in Connecticut. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremony honoring members of the American Foreign Service Association who died while serving overseas at t...

 THEBLAZE.COM 4 Hours Ago Revealing New Statistics Seem to Debunk One of the Main Arguments Made by Gun Control Advocates by  Jason Howerton Credit: AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — Gun homicides have dropped steeply in the United States since their peak in 1993, a pair of reports released Tuesday showed, adding fuel to Congress' battle over whether to tighten restrictions on firearms. The findings throw cold water on one of the main arguments made by gun control advocates, that more firearms regulations are needed because gun violence is spiraling out of control. A study released Tuesday by the government's Bureau of Justice Statistics found that gun-related homicides dropped from 18,253 in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011. That's a 39 percent reduction. Another report by the private Pew Research Center found a similar decline by looking at the rate of gun homicides, which compares the number of killings to the size of the country's population. It fou...

 BLOG.TENTHAMENDMENTCENTER.COM 4 Hours Ago Texas House Votes to Nullify Federal Gun Control, 102-31 Posted by  TAC Daily Updates AUSTIN, Tex. (May 7, 2013) – Today, the Texas State House approved a bill that would render almost all federal gun control measures toothless.  House Bill 928 ( HB928 ), by Representative Matthew Krause, was approved on 3rd reading by a wide margin.  The final vote was 102-31 ( roll call here ). If passed into law, HB928 would require that the state refuse to enforce almost all federal gun control measures enacted at anytime – past, present or future.    It reads, in part: An agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, and a law enforcement officer or other person employed by an agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, may not contract with or in any other manner provide assistance to a federal agency or official with respect to the enforcement of a federal statute, order...