My wife and I, while vacationing in the west for a month, stopped to visit one of her relatives, a niece, in Denver. We arrived at night, and I took note of what the area looked like, and it was anything but harmless looking. Since I'm legal to carry in CO, I had boned up on their rules about carry (which by the way are quite permissive) the day before we entered the state, as was my practice during the trip. That in mind, I made sure I had my trusty little Glock 26 on my person or nearby throughout the two-day visit.
To briefly describe the setting, these two young women rent a floor of an old home. Out the rear is an alley, containing among other things a crazy lady living in a truck that is stacked at least 12' high with junk atop it...it was hilarious, since there were 3-4 bikes entangled in the mess; I regret now that I didn't take a picture. Next door is an abandoned, boarded-up synagogue. Each night several street dwellers showed up to bang in the boarded up front door, and I think they gained access to stay within while we were there.
I was assured that it was safe to park my car on the street, since "...nobody's ever been broken into in this neighborhood..."; I noticed a lot (and I mean a continuous low pile) of shattered window glass lying in close to the curb for as far as I could see in each direction, which shook my confidence in that statement...so I totally unloaded the car, not wanting to lose even my owners manual or road atlas...heh.
OK, now that you got the picture, so on to the heart of this post.
While having a conversation about the city, where they have lived for about a year, I softly challenged their lack of concern for their personal safety, wanting to move into a discussion of firearms, or at the least introduce the topic of pepper spray into the talk. They immediately assured me that Denver was very safe, and told us that they would walk anywhere in Denver at night and feel safe. Frankly, that's when I decided it was too long a journey to undertake...we had a bit more of a chat about their lovely city, during which I assured them that they were taking way too many chances...they gently treated me as if I were way too paranoid, so I left it at that. Oh, at one point I mentioned that I legally and regularly carried a concealed pistol for personal protection, and was met with a mild reaction from them that basically meant they regarded me as some kind of kook--no folks, I'm not the weirdo here...heh...it was a frustrating time.
And, being women, they are even more prone to injury or death because of the element of sexual assault, so may as well have had "Willing Victim" tattooed on their foreheads!
The only caveat I add is that I'm not bashing Denver, for I found it to be a very nice city and we enjoyed our visit. I would feel the same anywhere, for I really don't know of any city where I would walk anywhere at night and feel totally safe; that's just reality.
