Plaxico Burress: an excuse to use a great photoshop

The hammer came down on Plaxico Burress this morning. From the New York Times:

Plaxico Burress, the former Giants receiver, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, in a deal with Manhattan prosecutors that will send him to prison for two years.

If the case were to go to trial and Mr. Burress were convicted of all charges — two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment — he could face 3½ to 15 years in prison. The plea agreement still needs the approval of a State Supreme Court justice.

Mr. Burress, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, had a license to carry the gun in Florida, but it had expired nearly seven months before the shooting. Even if it were still valid, prosecutors said, Mr. Burress would not have been allowed to carry the weapon in New York.

Too harsh of a penalty for a self-inflicted injury? Let's see what the masses think...

Ochenta y Cinco says a lot of stupid things. This may be one of his better ideas.

Lights-out makes a valid point. When your gat slides down your pants you may be a douche.

This comment came from a reader at the NY Times. While I may agree that a deprivation of liberty for two years seems a bit steep let's not go throwing the "it's unconstitutional" banner over this issue. You see, there are certain people who are deemed menaces to society and as such it would be best not to have them carrying firearms. So states go about setting up laws that create barriers to owning weapons if you fall into this "menace" category; all the while trying to adhere to your constitutional protections.

I like these barriers....they make me feel safe when I choose to cruise out to clubs at 1:30 AM on a work night while leaving my little baby and wife at home. I want to know that responsible citizens and non-felons are the ones carrying weapons, so I don't get shot which would make it increasingly more difficult to make it home on a work night and to my little baby and wife I left at home.

While Plaxico was not a felon he was anything but responsible. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States requires stipulations because of morons like Plaxico Burress. He didn't have his Glock registered in the state of NY. It's registration in the state of Florida had been expired for months, not that it would have mattered, because HE WAS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK!!!! He didn't have the safety on his Glock set. He didn't have his Glock secured to ensure that it wouldn't fall down his pants. He is not very responsible and that's why there are restrictions on our right to bear arms. To protect us from egregious violators of the law and common place morons. Sorry Plax, but you've proven yourself a moron.

Giving up even a bit of your personal Liberty is a slippery slope, a slope that I'd prefer not to traverse. I don't own a hand gun but I may buy one in the future. If that day comes I really don't like the idea that the federal government will be aware of my activity but such is the price one pays. I'd much rather know that if there's anyone actually packin' out on the streets, that they are non-criminals who've exhibited some semblance of responsibility by getting a license for their weapon. History tells us that even those who handle guns regularly are subject to catastrophic accidents so I'll concede a little liberty in this instance.

It should also be noted that New York City had a lot of crime in the early '80s and now they don't, relatively speaking. I read a book called the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and he discusses some of the ways that New York cleaned itself up; I highly recommend it. In addition to Gladwell's study, I also have to think that strict gun laws have contributed to this decrease in crime. Call me crazy....

How 'bout one more tweet before we put the Plaxico story to rest:

Ehh........I too have a difficult time reconciling the Stallworth sentence and the case of Plaxico Burress.

Donte Stallworth killed another human being and he did it with marijuana in his system as well as a blood-alcohol-level that was above the legal limit. That's gross negligence and it cost someone their life.

Plaxico Burress could have killed someone and had he done so, it would have been gross negligence on his part.....but he didn't.....he's a moron who shot himself. Being punished for what you might do kind of sounds like life imitating art, a la the Minority Report. I don't know that I agree with that methodology.

Anyways...

Let's not forget how this country formed. Thirteen colonies existed as separate entities before they ever united. They thought of themselves as their own distinct nations with their own laws and customs. Their union developed as a means to an end; to defeat a seemingly invincible British Empire. Once this task was accomplished they returned to their old mindset of individual and distinct nations.

When the Constitution was eventually ratified, it was noted that the Union was entered into voluntarily by each State, and that this document would preserve the rights' of each of these States. Well now there are 50 States and they all have their own unique laws, Plax and fellow citizens......so, you better recognize!