Skip to main content
  • Donate
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
Got tips? Get in touch confidentially.
  • Newsletters
  • Politics
  • Environment
  • Criminal Justice
  • Guns
  • Race
  • Gender + Sexuality
  • Food
  • Podcast
  • Video
  • Magazine
Got tips? Get in touch confidentially.
Subscribe to our magazine
50 Years of Fearless Journalism
  • Politics
  • Environment
  • Criminal Justice
  • Guns
  • Race
  • Gender
  • Food
  • Podcast
  • Video
  • Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Will Van Sant

    Will Van Sant is a staff writer at The Trace. His reporting focuses on the gun lobby and related topics. Previously, he spent seven years on the investigative reporting team at Newsday, chronicling the cronyism, self-enrichment, and abuses of power endemic to government and law enforcement in New York.


    • Latest
    • An origami rifle, composed of the 1964 Civil Rights Act document.

      At the Justice Department, Civil Rights Now Means Gun Rights

      Will Van Sant

    • The hands and feet of five robed judges are visible in the background, each of them holding or resting a gun on their lap. In the foreground is an image of the United States shaped out of bullets.

      The Secret Plan to Strike Down US Gun Laws

      Will Van Sant

    • A black silhouette of an AR-15-style rifle is overlaid with white text excerpts from legal documents, including phrases like "In the Supreme Court of the United States," and "Court of Appeals." The rifle is set against a lime green background.

      The Secret Plan to Strike Down US Gun Laws

      Will Van Sant

    Mag Promo

    Independent. In print. In your mailbox.

    Inexpensive, too! Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $19.95.

    Mother Jones Magazine Cover : September + October 2026 October 2026
    Mother Jones Magazine Cover : July + August 2026 August 2026
    Mother Jones Magazine Cover : May + June 2026 June 2026
    podcast

    Bold. Brave. Beautiful.

    Award-winning photojournalism.
    Stunning video. Fearless conversations.

    Follow us on Instagram >

    Looking for news you can trust?

    Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

    Close
    Thank you for subscribing!

    By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners.

    • About
    • Our Staff
    • DEI&B
    • Financials
    • Careers
    • Freelance Guidelines
    • Contact Us
    • Support
    • Ways to Give
    • Advertise With Us
    • Licensing / Reprints
    • Store
    • Subscribe
    • Magazine Subscriptions
    • Give a Gift Subscription
    • Email Newsletters
    • Customer Service

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Copyright © 2026 Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting. All Rights Reserved.

    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy

    Powered by WordPress VIP

    We see you're using an ad blocker...

    And we respect that! But maybe you’d consider supporting our work directly? Help fund more journalism that seeks the truth and holds power to account. We can’t do it without you.

    We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism?

    Expect nothing but the truth.

    Independent news is in trouble. Those in power want to silence the truth and spoonfeed you their own twisted narrative. We’re fighting back with journalism that dives deep and asks hard questions, never settling for anything less than the full story.

    We can only do this work because we’re funded by readers—there are no media moguls lurking behind the scenes here. We’re fiercely independent and funded by readers just like you. Help us keep getting the truth out. Support investigative journalism today.


    Available payment methods include Visa, Master Card, Discover, and Paypal.

    Expect nothing but the truth.

    Independent news is in trouble. Those in power want to silence the truth and spoonfeed you their own twisted narrative. We’re fighting back with journalism that dives deep and asks hard questions, never settling for anything less than the full story.

    We can only do this work because we’re funded by readers—there are no media moguls lurking behind the scenes here. We’re fiercely independent and funded by readers just like you. Help us keep getting the truth out. Support investigative journalism today.


    Available payment methods include Visa, Master Card, Discover, and Paypal.
    close

    Don't let an algorithm decide what news you see.

    Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

    Close
    Thank you for subscribing!