Lugnut--I appreciate your request for my perspective. Basically, here's how Washington works: it's shaped like a baseball diamond, and the four quadrants are called NE, NW, SE, and SW. Northwest is almost universally safe from gun violence. That section includes white-collar working areas such as the Farragut Square area near the White House and a number of government buildings. It also includes ritzy, upscale residential areas like Dupont Circle and Georgetown. Even the more middle-class parts of NW, like Cleveland Park, are also considered quite safe.
On the other hand, there's NE, SE, and SW. When it comes to gun-related violence, anything can happen in those areas, and it often does. Here's the bottom line: the respected people in DC who have a political voice and some efficacy live in NW, and they simply ignore the gun violence because they themselves are safe. The residents in the other sections of town are largely ignored, as they are mostly poor people of color who have virtually no political power at all. Please, don't read this as some sort of black/white commentary; I'm just describing how Washington breaks down demographically and sociologically.
"As long as the killers don't come up here," the Northwesterners effectively say, "gun violence isn't even an issue."
Those who don't want to deal with it move to a suburban enclave in Virginia (or a few select parts of Maryland) and only go into the District itself for work (usually in a nice, safe part of Washington).
If there's anything else you (or anyone) would like me to address that I may have glossed over, please let me know and I'll fill you in as best as I can.
