Across the street from the New Friendly Baptist Church in Detroit, a block from a park where gunplay is more common than play, sits Laney's Gun Range and Shop. Shop owner General Laney is separated from his customers by a padlocked, steel gate that prevents them from walking inside while the store is unattended or while Laney has his back turned. About 10 feet inside the door is a salmon-colored cabinet with about 30 rifles and shotguns. Twenty feet away is a black cabinet filled with handguns. The building's darkly lit basement serves a range, equipped with insulation and armor plate used for target practice.
Black people are no different than anyone else.
They just want to live. The increase of illegal gun sales on the streets at lower prices and wholesale distributors, such as Kmart and Dunham's, with large inventories have cut into Laney's sales these days. It's a strange dilemma for a shop owner like Laney. People with money won't go to the small neighborhood shop in Detroit, while some of those in the area wouldn't qualify to purchase a gun under federal laws. At 3 p.m., Charles Lee stands behind the black metal fence asking Laney about a gun he is having fixed in the shop.