imported post
I lived in NoVa for 15 years, and worked in the District for about 6 of those years. There are places in DC where I wouldn't bring my vehicle to a full stop for anything short of an armed military roadblock. Navigating through stop signs using "roll-stops" was actually recommended by DC Metro officers to me on several occasions...
Shortly after I first moved to the area in the fall of 1987, I was driving home from Union Station (I was buying an Amtrack Ticket to take a traint trip that weekend). I was dressed for work (tie, sportscoat, and "hard shoes") and driving my 1969 VW Beetle. I got turned around and sort of lost due to a construction detour, and the next thing I knew, I was crossing the Anacostia Bridge. It was about 11pm on a weeknight. At that point in DC's histoy, Anacostia was essentially the East Coast branch of Compton CA--burned out cars, boarded up buildings, abandonded businesses, roving bands of feloniously armed hoodlums--it was NOT a nice place.
After trying to figure out how to get back into NoVA and having no luck for about 15 minutes (this was Pre cell phones and Pre GPS) I found an open 7-11 and wheeled into the parking lot. This 7-11 looked like it had been built by the same folks who built Fort Knox--it had a 2" thick plexiglass bullet proof cage around the cashier, iron bars on the windows, and because of the late hour, the cooler cases with beer in them were actually chained and locked. It was creepy...
A little old black man was behind the counter--probably 50 or 60, and wearing a cardigan and a bow tie (I can't make this stuff up!) and as I approached his eyes got really big and he spoke before I could ask for directions, saying "hey son, you sure are lost, huh?" I chuckled and told him yes, and he gave me excellent directions, and told me not to stop for anything--stop signs, lights, people in the street--nothing. I got back to the "civilized" side of the river without incident.
Now this was when VA was a "shall issue" state, and I did not have any sort of permit, and DC was a "no possession" venue (and was SOOOO safe because of it...) But I was young, and a bit of a bumpkin from WV and didn't realise just how seriously they took gun laws out there. Shortly thereafter I purchased my first handgun--a Taurus 689 with a 4" barrel, and a Bianchi shoulder holster.
I lived in the DC metro area for 15 years with almost no incidents. The gods watch over children and idiots, I guess...
These days, I just don't go into DC at all unless I absolutely have to. I've been successfuly avoiding DC for about 10 years, but now that I've got a granddaughter in MD and I'm an MFA candidate in grad school, it looks like occasional trips to DC (school research and family trips to the Library of Congress, and the Museums) will become unavoidable...
I just know the "rules" now, and I know there are some things you just DO NOT do, like roll down you rwindow for some idiot who walks up to your vehicle. I also carry a BIG-ASS can of bear mace and a 6-D-Cell MagLight in my car at all times. Just because I've been statutorily disarmed while visiting DC doesn't mean I will give the city absolute consent to become a victim...