Burning Question: What's the fee to overthrow the government?

CBS News' Political Hotsheet has an update on the South Carolina law requiring anybody interested in "controlling, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States, the state of South Carolina or any political division thereof" to register with the state -- and pay a $5 filing fee.

The law has been on the books since 1951, a time when rooting out Communists was something of a national obsession. Now State Sen. Larry Martin, a Republican, thinks it's outlived its usefulness -- assuming of course, that it ever had any.

Indeed, the law hadn't attracted much attention until it became publicized recently. That brought some would-be subversives out of the woodwork, some with less-than-serious intentions. "I think we had Donald Duck in there," Martin told the Hotsheet.

Fee to Overthrow the Government: Five Dollars
(CBS News Political Hotsheet. Hat tip: The Daily Dish.)

Burning Question is a recurring feature that looks at key issues and compelling stories being explored at other publications and social media sites covering the federal government.