Denver's First Black-Owned Gun Club Offers Inclusive Space For All
DENVER (CBS4)- Denver's first Black-owned gun club in the historic Five Points neighborhood is providing an inclusive space for all. The 1770 Armory and Gun Club is in the heart of the historic Black neighborhood. The owners wanted to join other Black businesses owners in Five Points and provide a place for people to feel comfortable.
"This is a very low stress environment, from the beginner to the ranger vet, they can come in here and find use with our facility," said 1770 Armory co-owner and lead instructor, Anubis Heru.
The gun club hopes to change the perception of Black gun ownership in the community. The 1770 Armory is named in honor of Crispus Attucks. Heru says he was a Black and Indigenous man considered to be the first American killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770.
"We want to show that there are a ton of responsible gun owners that are African-American, and our responsibility is to make sure that individuals who own firearms don't have them sitting in their sock drawer collecting dust. We want to make sure that they bring it in and that they learn how to use it," Heru said. "There's a lot of people who purchased firearms last year and we know that those people aren't purchasing training. We're here in the community, in the heart of Five Points, to create that middleman."
The 1770 Armory and Gun Club offers concealed carry classes, home defense, and tactical first aid training. They're incorporating technology to teach people safely.
"We call it SIFER, and it's a Simulated Infrared Firing Range," Heru said. "We use a proprietary software, and we use some hardware to connect it, so people are getting their training experience without the use of expensive ammunition," Heru told CBS4's Andrea Flores.
You can't open carry or operate a live-fire gun range in Denver city limits. The club partners with gun ranges outside city limits to offer live-fire experience, something they say goes hand in hand with the education they offer.
With gun sales on the rise, 1770 Armory and Gun Club hopes people remember to exercise their Second Amendment rights responsibly.
"Please get yourself educated and get yourself trained," said Heru. "We have a huge responsibility. There's a lot of miseducation and misinformation about Black gun ownership because it's been shown that only certain types of individuals carry firearms, and that is the furthest thing from the truth."
For more information, www.1770armory.com