And let’s start with Chicago and Baltimore. Not the entirety of both cities, of course. There are some very nice tourist destinations in each. But there are some neighborhoods where it’s simply not safe to go without some form of protection. And since you’re not allowed to carry your own defensive firearms when visiting those areas, people should be aware.
Sure, a suggestion like this is going to offend some people, but let’s think about it for a moment. If you go to the State Department website where they list all of the travel advisories, they break them down into four categories. Level 1 is described as "Use Normal Caution" and it covers countries ranging from Andorra to New Zealand. Level 2 urges travelers to "Exercise Increased Caution." That includes some rather sketchy places like Columbia, Uganda, and Ecuador. But it also includes Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
By the time we reach Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) we’re into some definitely risky turf. There are 16 countries on this list and it includes Haiti, Pakistan, Lebanon, Honduras, and Chad. Finally, we reach Level 4 which flatly states "Do Not Travel." Thirteen nations have earned this "honor." You can probably guess most of them, like North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela. If you go there without a military escort you’re probably just begging to be killed or taken away to prison.
So if we were going to do tourists the favor of warning them away from the rougher neighborhoods in Chicago and Baltimore, what category would they fall into? While this study from Chicago Magazine dates back seven years, they took a look at this precise question. Kabul Province in Afghanistan (a Level 4 region) with a population of 3.5 million actually had a lower murder rate for civilians than Chicago. And Baltimore, looked at on a per capita basis, has a murder rate that’s even worse. Should we be creating a new Level 5 to describe these cities?