By Danielle E. Gaines The national gun control debate has led to a Senate filibuster, a House sit-in, and as of late Thursday, potential compromise legislation with a narrow edge in the Senate. On Wednesday, House members representing Frederick County joined in the Democratic sit-in. Maryland's Democratic senators, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, joined a "Hold the Floor" filibuster in that chamber last week. At the core of the bills under consideration in both chambers was how and whether to expand background checks to all commercial gun sales and whether to prohibit gun sales to people on FBI terror watch lists. U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-6th, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-8th, took part in the sit-in. Delaney encouraged the House's Republican leadership to bring the measures to the floor. "In any other world other than the House of Representatives of the United States of America in 2016, would you think there would be a question as to whether people on the no-fly list, as deemed by the FBI, should be able to buy a gun?" he asked during the protest, before criticizing the political influence of the National Rifle Association. Van Hollen said the chambers' inaction in the face of injustice "makes this House complicit in that injustice. It makes us complicit in the carnage that goes on. It makes us responsible for lives taken when we know there are actions we can take to save lives." Van Hollen, who is seeking Mikulski's seat after her retirement, said late Thursday in a statement that a Senate compromise measure "would be a small but positive step forward; but unfortunately its future is uncertain." Introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that proposal more narrowly tailors "no fly, no buy" bills to limit gun sale prohibitions to people on the government's no-fly list or "selectee list," subsets of the terror watch list, and allows for that decision to be appealed. Earlier versions of the bill drew criticism because they would forbid sales to a much broader list of suspected terror suspects, without protections for due process. Collins' proposal won the support of 52 colleagues, including Mikulski and Cardin, in a test vote on Thursday afternoon. The House adjourned until July 5 without a vote on any proposed gun control measures.Candidates speak out Dan Cox, a Republican from Emmitsburg running for Van Hollen's 8th District seat, said he's been following the gun control debate. He called much of the discussion from Democrats in the Capitol misguided. "The issue in front of us is that we were attacked in Orlando and gun control is not the answer to dealing with ISIS," Cox said in a phone interview Thursday. "ISIS would love for us to be disarmed." Cox said the debate has highlighted the issue of false positives on the U.S. terror watch list and a need for the Justice Department to dedicate more vigilance to building probable cause to arrest suspected terrorists. He disagreed with any system that would cause potential gun buyers to be denied their Second Amendment rights without due process. "We need to preserve and protect our constitutional liberties," he said. His opponent, Democratic state Sen. Jamie Raskin, said he supports national gun control reform and would support changes including a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons, universal background checks, lifting the ban on federal research of gun violence as a public health epidemic and strengthening enforcement efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. While he understands the concerns about due process rights, Raskin also said the "no fly, no buy" proposals have merit. "Given that we have a terrorist watch list, it makes no sense to say that someone is too dangerous to be allowed to board an airplane, but they can turn around and leave the airport and go purchase firearms," he said. Raskin added that he thinks "the vast majority of American people favor reasonable, common-sense gun safety measures." Republican state Delegate Kathy Szeliga, who is running against Van Hollen for Mikulski's Senate seat, and Amie Hoeber, who is running against Delaney in the 6th District, did not return calls for comment by 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

By Dan Cox ISIS. So-called "soldiers of the caliphate." Soft-targets and casualties, the list goes on. Add to that heroin and drug-related burglaries; we must be vigilant. But let's pause a minute this Fourth of July and remember our heroes. They would want us to smile in confidence, love God and family, and be brave. Like the valor of our Armed Forces. Men like Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor, whose story is depicted in the movie "Act of Valor." And Marylander Emily Perez, the first female West Point graduate to die in combat for America. So hold fast, keep the faith. In God we still trust. And let's get to work. In Congress, I plan to draft and seek to pass a National Home and Community Defense Act. First, the act will provide basic training for home and community defense. During WWII, the Civil Air Patrol provided a means for citizens to help defend our communities and it still has a proud tradition of doing so. For defense, we can also train citizens via local fire and police departments. Second, the act will include the opportunity for all able-bodied people to be armed and trained, with possible tax credits as incentives. The Second Amendment exists for arming citizens; Switzerland does this and we can too. Third, the act will include interstate reciprocity for concealed carry holders across state lines. Time and again quick-thinking armed citizens stop mass shootings, saving lives. Fourth, we need a comprehensive approach to securing the border and stopping the heroin epidemic. This is why I also support comprehensive addiction recovery, to make our communities safer. These are common-sense measures for our security. But I can't do this unless we protect the other House -- the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress does not need a politician like my opponent, an open atheist and socialist who authored the gun ban in Maryland. He has a right to his opinions and beliefs, but so do we. I believe District 8 needs a congressman who follows the Constitution and defends the rights of the people which come from our Creator. That is my duty. Please join me. Go to www.coxforcongress.org. Enjoy the Fourth of July and keep smiling!

By Nancy Lavin Dan Cox names President Ronald Reagan as his political hero. "One of my greatest honors was to volunteer for his campaign when I was a kid," he said. Cox, 41, is a Republican seeking to represent Maryland's 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He lives in Cascade in Frederick County. Cox pledged to restore conservative American principles embodied by the Reagan administration. He pinned the solutions for modern economic development problems to Reaganomic principles for limited government, lower taxation and the "trickle-down" economic theory. "If we increase opportunity for economic mobility and freedom, that will provide the opportunity for individuals to get out of economic struggle," Cox said. He proposed a flat tax, in which all individuals pay the same rate regardless of income, as one way to provide economic opportunity. As the founder and sole practitioner of Cox Law Center -- an Emmitsburg law firm specializing in accident and personal injury law, as well as constitutional law -- he said he has seen how taxation policies hurt small businesses. Cox called for major cuts to "waste" in government spending. Specifically, he proposed reducing funding and programs for five "bloated" federal government agencies -- the Internal Revenue Service and the departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development. He faulted these agencies for "picking winners and losers" instead of providing opportunities for businesses and programs to compete in a free market. For example, he said, the Department of Energy has unfairly vilified the coal industry, while rewarding other energy sectors with subsidies and tax breaks. "We need to have clean energy, but I don't believe in targeting certain industries to do it," he said. He pointed to the Solyndra case as proof of the consequences of interfering with free-market competition. Solyndra, a California solar panel manufacturer, filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after receiving significant loans and tax breaks from the Department of Energy under President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. The bankruptcy was followed by a federal fraud investigation. The government did not get its money back. Money cut from bloated government agencies could be redirected to infrastructure projects and increased military and defense programs at no extra cost to taxpayers, Cox said. Among the transportation projects he proposed was one to reduce congestion on I-270. He said he'd support increased spending and programs to military operations, calling current financial allocations "foolhardy" and "downright dangerous." In Frederick County, Fort Detrick could serve the dual priorities of bolstering national security and expanding economic opportunity, he said. Above all, he pledged to emulate his presidential role model by pushing for government transparency and accountability. "He communicated truth to policy," Cox said of Reagan. "He kept his word." Four other Republican candidates are competing for the 8th District seat in the April 26 primary -- Jeffrey W. Jones, Liz Matory, Aryeh Shudofsky and Shelly Skolnick. The seat is currently held by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who is running for U.S. Senate. The general election will be held Nov. 8. Representatives serve a two-year term at an annual salary of $174,000.