Reshaping of federal courts concerns gun control supporters

By Don Thompson

Don Thompson, reporter, Sacramento, California, for a forward-looking piece amid the blizzard of gun-related news that followed the most recent mass shootings, looking at how the reshaping of the federal courts under President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate could undermine strict gun-control laws passed by Democratic-leaning states. That scenario is already playing out in California, where a Republican-appointed federal judge has blocked a state law limiting the number of rounds allowed in ammunition magazines. Thompson’s story, turned around in a day and a half with an assist from legal affairs reporter Curt Anderson in Miami, resonated with readers and editors, scoring heavy play online and in print.