#bbcpopup

Guns are as much part of the American West as are the open land, the big sky and the wildlife.

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Last year a law was passed in Colorado banning high-capacity magazines and demanding background checks on private gun sales. Many thought the state was leading the way in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings.

But the reality we found on the ground is that the ban on high-capacity magazines simply isn't enforced. 

With hundreds of thousands of high-capacity magazines still legally in the state - either by having been purchased prior to the ban or across the state border in Wyoming - a sheriff told us that he simply has more important things going on.

After a series of public threats, Magpul - an ammunitions plant formerly located in Boulder, Colorado - hopped across the northern border into Wyoming. Now 100 miles up the road from its old residence, the plant continues to produce high-capacity magazines.

And gun owners maintain the self-defense is an issue when the next police station is 30 minutes away.

Not everyone agrees.

Tom Sullivan, who lost his son Alex on July 20, 2013 in the Aurora theatre shooting, says the ban can make a difference. The shooter came into the screening of Batman with a 100-round magazine and kept shooting until the magazine jammed.

An argument against the ban came from the business community that feared valuable jobs could move elsewhere if Colorado lost his pro-gun identity. An ammunition plant did move across the state border to Wyoming, but not before profiting from a mass fire sale before the ban became active.

Jim Quinlan decided his family-run business would not sell assault rifles and high-capacity magazines anymore right after the Sandy Hook shooting, and long before the ban became active. He told us that he sleeps more soundly at night, despite the backlash he received from some customers who said he wasn't protecting their Second Amendment rights.

But the debate remains. Three Colorado state Democrats who voted for the ban were ousted (two re-called, one resigned) since the passing of the law, and Governor John Hickenlooper already apologized to the state's Sheriffs for not listening to their concerns sooner and admitting that mistakes had been made.

Colorado has turned purple in recent years, but when you drive through the rural parts here it becomes clear that gun rights will remain a hot topic for years to come.

Background check data

Finally I found data from the FBI on background checks before gun sales, and turned it into a map using Google Fusion Tables. The numbers are from 2013 and you can click on each state to see the breakdown. The darker a state, the higher percentage of the population went through these checks.

Download the data here.

That's it from me in Colorado. I'll see you soon!

Based on the feedback we received, we’re changing the Sandbox a little bit. Instead of lots of information crammed in every which way, every day you’ll receive three sections of news you can use: 

In NPR & FRIENDS, we’ll highlight great ideas from across public media.

In THE WIDER WORLD, we’ll highlight great ideas from outside of public media. 

In PRACTICAL ADVICE, you’ll find tips, techniques and tools you can use to help your reporting.

As always, if you spot something, please email us — so we can include it and give you a hat tip! Thanks!

Mel and Wright

PS: If you haven’t given us feedback, please fill out this survey.  It will help us redesign the web version of this newsletter — and determine what information is most useful.

NPR’S SOCIAL SANDBOX

NPR & FRIENDS

1. Rachel Rohr, Here&Now’s digital and social media producer, is taking a month-long road trip across the United States to find stories of young Americans and the issues that matter most in their lives. You can follow her on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. 

2. Tomorrow, Ari Shapiro and Marilyn Geewax are going to have a chat at 12:30 PM ET on Ari’s Facebook page about the upcoming Scottish election. Come with your questions.

3. Izzi Smith sends along news that the BBC has launched a pop up newsroom  traveling around the United States for six months and dig around for good stories. Think Storycorps for Newsrooms. One of the members of the pop-up team? Matt Danzico. Does that name sound familiar? He's Liz’s brother!  (Tumblr is here.) 

THE WIDER WORLD

1. Look at a prototype The Guardian created to receive audience feedback and comments on articles. 

2. Anastasia Tsioulcas sends along this interactive for the NYTimes Fall Arts Preview. She writes, "I thought this was a really nice way of putting together an interactive that otherwise would read as an endless litany of DATE- blurb – DATE – blurb – DATE –blurb.  I also love the fact that they mixed up everything cultural – visual art is next to dance is next to Robert Plant’s album release etc."

PRACTICAL ADVICE: LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Beginner: Just getting started on social media? Here’s a social media syllabus from the University of Florida Journalism School. There’s A LOT of stuff in here, but it’s a nice overview if you’re just getting your feet wet. (One of their assignments? Analyze NPR’s social media!)

Intermediate:  Tools and resources from The Local News Lab on community engagement, measuring impact, and building a news business. 

Advanced: Here’s a list of data collection tools for Twitter and Facebook. 

Mel