Maryland's landmark law banning cheap handguns won surprisingly easy approval Tuesday, a victory that gun control forces say could reignite their movement in other states. With 82 percent of the precincts reporting, those favoring the law totaled 656,598 or 58 percent, to 482,974 or 42 percent against. The law was winning by wide margins in urban areas to offset heavy support for repeal in rural counties. The gun law battle provoked a bitter political fight that become the most expensive in state history. The National Rifle Association spent more $4 million to repeal the Maryland statute.
