All's Quiet on the Potomac - Except for the Gunfire

by Joseph Pickett

June 8, 2003

KeepAndBearArms.com -- Each summer, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college graduates descend upon Washington, D.C. to start their careers by working in the marbled halls of Congress and in the plush offices of powerful lobbyists and attorneys with Important Hair. They are young, single, and idealistic.

They take up residence in the hip parts of the city - Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill. They rub elbows with Important People, soak up the city's rich night life and revel in the hustle and bustle of an Important City in the flower of their youth. After a few years, most of them fall in love and marry (or co-habit, then marry).

When the time comes to raise their families, however, most of them turn tail and run for the suburbs of nearby Maryland and Virginia like bats out of hell. The District is fine for making a living and for looking at marble statues, but when the sun sets, those of above-average intelligence head across the river. This mass exodus is real and persistent, year after year. Washington, D.C. has lost about 250,000 residents since the mid-70s, many of them upper middle class professionals.

Why?

Particularly since the advent of home rule in 1973, the city has been transformed into a high crime mini-welfare state. Under convicted crackhead Mayor Marion Barry (elected 4 times, which solidified D.C.'s national laughingstock status), the D.C. government expanded to a mind-blowing 48,000 employees between 1982 and 1990. Impressive - almost 1 bureaucrat for every 10 residents. Most families looking to settle down avoid D.C. like the black death, unless they are rich elites like Hillary Clinton, who can afford the super-expensive, super safe parts of the city, or the working poor who lack the resources (or knowledge) to pick up and move.

The biggest reason many don't want to raise their children in The District is that D.C. is an exquisitely safe community - for criminals. Innocent people have an unfortunate tendency to be stabbed or shot there on a daily basis. Young parents find this a less-than-ideal area to raise their children (it's hard for a little one to learn to read when bullets are flying past his head). More than 300 people were killed in D.C. in 2002 - about a 1 per day average. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has admitted the department has a less than 50% solve rate on murders, with some detectives solving none at all. In typical D.C. fashion, Ramsey didn't offer his resignation for this travesty. In fact, there is talk of Ramsey even getting a $25,000 pay raise! In D.C., nothing pays like catastrophic incompetence.

A look at D.C. crime rates bears this out. Shield your kids' eyes, this ain't pretty:

1999 Statistics (Per 1,000 residents):

DC - 81
Prince George's County MD - 53
Alexandria City VA - 47
Arlington City VA - 33
Montgomery County MD - 31
Prince William Country VA - 29
Loudoun County VA - 24
Fairfax County VA - 24

And in 2000, D.C. was among the nation's leading cities, in the murder rate per 100,000 residents. What sentient human would raise a child in an environment where guns are banned from the hands of the law-abiding and blood runs in the streets?

Given that much safer environs are just a few miles away, across the Potomac, it's easy to see why young families move away from the District. Nearby Maryland and Northern Virginia have significantly lower crime rates, with Northern Virginia ranking the lowest. A big reason for this is gun control, but not in the way many think.

A typical person who gets news from the mainstream press might think that the more difficult it is to buy a gun, the less crime for the area.

Wrong.

The wise city fathers virtually banned legal ownership of firearms in the city in 1976. The result was a skyrocketing crime rate. For example, in 1976, there were 702,000 citizens living in D.C. There were 188 murders. In 1996, there were 543,000 residents in D.C. and 397 murders. The average criminal doesn't obey the law in any case, so gun laws mean nothing to them. Restrictive gun laws are usually obeyed only by the law-abiding, which leaves them defenseless to criminals. In D.C., they have a high crime rate and virtually no gun ownership by law-abiding citizens. This is a recipe for disaster that is supported by the statistics.

In Virginia, it is much easier to purchase a gun, and quite easy to obtain a concealed-carry permit. This terrifies gun control folks, but think about it: If a criminal has a choice to conduct business between a region where some average citizens carry guns (Virginia) and one where no one does (D.C.), where will most criminals go to do their dirty work? Look at the crime statistics for proof - guns in the hands of private citizens lower crime. In Maryland, it is more difficult to buy guns and very difficult to obtain a permit to carry. The crime rates there are naturally higher.

Another reason for the high crime rate in D.C. is the lack of a death penalty. D.C. citizens like to treat their murderous felons with compassion, and the horrid crime rates show it. Maryland is a bit better, where 3 people have been executed since 1976. But Virginia is decidedly criminal-unfriendly, with 81 executions since 1976, the second highest in the nation behind Texas. Criminals understand - if you want to kill someone, stay out of Virginia. Maryland, and especially D.C., are much safer for the criminal element.

There is some hope for those in D.C. who obey the law. A group of D.C. residents are suing the city for denying them their Second Amendment rights. Perhaps in the future, citizens will have the right to defend themselves again in the District, and young families will consider taking up residence in the city again. For now, however, the criminals rule D.C., and the law-abiding vote with their feet by taking their families and tax dollars to safer suburbs in Virginia and Maryland.

Joseph Pickett is a full-time and freelance writer from Winchester, Va. He lived in Russia for three years and brought home a number of souvenirs, including a wife and son. Since returning to America, he has become a so-called 'extremist' - that is, a supporter of the Bill of Rights as written. He has had a variety of conservative political commentary published at The Washington Times, The Washington Dispatch, CNSNews.com, the Sierra Times, and also history and family articles at Countrylife.net and CWiPremium.com. He is also a CCW holder and is the proud owner of a Kahr K-9 9mm. Visit his website at www.josephpickett.com.