With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Old West Leaves Dodge City; Guns Remain

Dodge City has a rich history as an Old West frontier town, where cowboys and gunslingers could take a break from the trail and get their fill of saloons and brothels.

Today, the tidy town built on meatpacking and rodeos is again plagued by gunfighters. But this time they're in street gangs, some of which have second-generation members as young as 11. The drug of choice is methamphetamine and the weapons range from automatic rifles to baseball bats.

"When it was old Dodge City, it was cowboys coming off the range and ending up in Dodge and raising hell and letting things go," said John Ball, Dodge City chief of police. "This is entirely different. There is no comparison.
Read entire article at AP