If D.C. were to follow its condom giveaway model, however, it wouldn't need to warn people about the importance of safe procedures. Just let the public think they're safe by virtue of their being present, without regard for how they're used. That's how condom campaigns work (not just D.C.'s, but nigh on all of them).

Rare is the condom giveaway or promotion "for safety" that gives the comprehensive message on condoms and safety as does the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Condoms offer effective prevention against HIV transmission – that's where the giveaway programs and advocates tend to stop. But the CDC offer more nuance. Their fact sheet on "Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases" notes first that abstinence or staying in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner is the best method of avoiding STDs. Afterwards, for "persons whose sexual behaviors place them at risk of STDs," it cites the risk-reducing measures of "correct and consistent use" of condoms – and after citing that "condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD," it stresses again that condoms must be used "correctly and consistently." Incorrect use "diminish[es] their protective effect," and inconsistent use "can lead to STD transmission because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse."

Delineating correct use would bog down a punchy slogan, however. It's unlikely the city would adopt "Coming Together to Stop HIV in D.C., Providing These Are Used Correctly and Consistently, and We Mean Completely Unrolled and Donned Each and Every Time Before Genital Contact Occurs and Lubricated and Stored Properly As Well As Used Within a Reasonable Amount of Time After Manufacture."

Even then, it would still have to carry the caveat, "Guarantee Void If Used For Anal Intercourse," for as the CDC have also noted, "condoms are more likely to break during anal sex than during vaginal sex. Thus, even with a condom, anal sex can be risky."

Of course, were D.C. to adopt the "free-condoms approach" to gun violence, however, one would hope officials would do a better job of ensuring manufacture of the rubber bullets than they did of the condoms. D.C.'s condom giveaway program has weathered heavy criticism of late for its Chinese-made condoms appearing poorly manufactured, for being poorly packaged, and for expiration dates being illegible.

Oh, and the program's name. It would have to be something along the lines of "Taking a Shot At Eliminating Gun Violence in D.C.," wouldn't it?