To Be Black and Own a Gun in Denver
These are boom times for gun sellers in Colorado, with more gun purchases reported in 2020 than in 2000, 2001 and 2002 combined, according to the Denver Post. Look a little closer at those numbers, and the story gets a little more complicated, especially for Black people in Denver. City Cast Denver guest host donnie l. betts sits down with Alton Clark, the founder of 5280 Steel, a local gun club that saw its membership double in the past year. Then, he takes a tour of 1770 Armory and Gun Club, a new virtual firing range that opened in Five Points last September, with one of its founders, Shawn McWilliams. They discuss their personal relationships with guns, the taboo of gun ownership in the Black community, and what they think is driving the recent boom in gun sales.
To hear donnie’s production of The Knock-Kneed Man: The Story of Crispus Attucks Freedom Fighter, click here.
Want to win $100? All you have to do is tell us what you think about City Cast Denver. Take our listener survey, and you’ll be entered to win! https://denver.citycast.fm/survey/
Get the newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/
Get the tweets: @CityCastDenver
Want to know what's happening in Denver? Sign up for our free newsletter, Hey Denver. Packed with local news, curated event recs, local life hacks, and more, it's your daily toolkit for getting the most out of the city you love.
Latest Episodes
Denver’s Got Startup Fever, More Hotels Not Housing, and a Green Chile Debate
More than ten thousand people with big dreams arrived in the Mile High City for this year’s Denver Startup Week, and AI was the talk of the ...
High Plains Comedy Turns 10, ‘Vandal Futurism,’ and Music for Beer-Drinking
This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of what our guest calls “Comedy Christmas” — aka, the High Plains Comedy Festival. Returning fave J...
Should Denver Rename These 6 Parks?
At the height of the racial justice protests of 2020, Denverites — like the rest of the country — reckoned with our past. Statues depicting ...
Is the 'Homeless Bar' Real? Plus, Public Overdose Deaths Are on the Rise
It’s Tuesday, so host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are breaking down all the local stories that matter. First, a report of a so-cal...
Has Denver’s Dumpling Moment Finally Arrived?
With the opening of Yuan Wonton’s new shared brick-and-mortar restaurant in Park Hill, the food trend of the fall is officially the humble d...
Boebert’s Big Night Out, Paying Legislators, and a Trash-Eating Bear
U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert had a big night out at the theater in Denver this past weekend, complete with vaping, loud singing, and b...
What Did CO’s New Michelin Stars Really Cost? Plus, Mountaintop Arby’s
After months of anticipation and rumors, the Michelin Guide bestowed five local restaurants a Michelin star at an exclusive ceremony in RiNo...
Do These Denver Icons Deserve 1-Star Reviews?
The humble user review — taken alone, is just one person’s opinion. But put a bunch together, and that aggregated star rating can make or br...
What Do Denverites Really Think? A New Poll Shows All
It’s easy to walk down the streets of Denver and see the major issues facing our city — housing, homelessness, public safety, etc. It’s much...
Is There Such Thing as a ‘Denver Accent’?
It’s easy to forget, but Denver is still a young city, constantly searching for an identity. So it’s confounding why there’s so little resea...