SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says he recognizes that gun, drug and gang violence "has plagued all of us." Still, he believes the Constitution limits how far government can go to restrict gun use to prevent crime.

As a federal appeals court judge, Kavanaugh made it clear in a 2011 dissent that he thinks Americans can keep most guns, even the AR-15 rifles used in some of the deadliest mass shootings.

Kavanaugh's nomination by President Donald Trump has delighted Second Amendment advocates. Gun law supporters worry that his ascendancy to America's highest court...