New York Giants receiver suffers accidental gunshot wound

[ericire12]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/12/01/2008-12-01_mayor_bloomberg_fuming_over_plaxico_shoo-3.html

A fuming Mayor Bloomberg said Monday he wants Giants player Plaxico Burress prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" for accidentally shooting himself in his leg with an illegal handgun.

The mayor also called on prosecutors to throw the book at officials of the Giants and New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell for reportedly not alerting police about the shooting immediately, as required by law.

[ericire12]

Washington Post sports columnist uses this story to go on a 2nd amendment bashing rant:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120101335.html?hpid=topnews

By John Feinstein

At the root of incidents like this is a simple fact: athletes -- and many others -- own guns not because they feel unsafe, but because they like them. They like owning them and talking about them.

The owners and players should agree that players can't own handguns. That won't prevent players who like to hunt from hunting. If a player feels unsafe for any reason, he can ask his team to provide security -- all NFL teams have good-sized security forces, most of them retired law enforcement officials -- or they can hire their own security guards.

Now, let's not start screaming about the Second Amendment. To begin with, the amendment should be abolished -- a sensible interpretation of the amendment is that it was written to allow the people to raise a militia for protection and to hunt for food. Clearly no one needs to raise a militia these days, and those who hunt for a living can be licensed to do so.

It would be nice if President-elect Obama had the time to focus his energies on repeal of the Second Amendment, but he first has to deal with a broken economy and the incredibly wrong-headed war started by his predecessor. What's more, the issue of gun rights causes almost as much screaming from the right as abortion rights, the irony being that those yelling the loudest about the right to life are usually those yelling almost as loud about their right to carry weapons that kill.

The Second Amendment isn't going to be abolished any time soon. That should not prevent the NFL -- and all sports leagues -- from taking handguns away from their players.

It is no more unconstitutional to say players can't own guns than it is to say they must be subjected to drug testing when there is no evidence they have used drugs, or saying they can be fined for speaking their mind about officiating.

So let's not use the constitution as an excuse.

Contact info:
letters@washpost.com

Main Number: 703.469.2500





What Mr Feinstein doesnt understand:

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."

-- George Mason


"It is, of course, no coincidence that the right to have guns is one of the earlier freedoms outlined in U.S.A.'s Bill of Rights. Without guns in the hands of the people, all the other freedoms are easily negated by the State. If you disagree with that statement, ask yourself if the Nazis could have gassed millions of Jews, had the Jews been armed with rifles and pistols -- there weren't enough SS troops to do the job. Lest we forget, in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1944, a couple of hundred Jews armed with rifles and homemade explosive devices held off two fully-equipped German divisions (actually about 8,000 men) for nearly two months."

-- Unknown

[Roy Hill]

Here are some bon mots from the column, and then the link.

o begin with, the amendment should be abolished -- a sensible interpretation of the amendment is that it was written to allow the people to raise a militia for protection and to hunt for food. Clearly no one needs to raise a militia these days, and those who hunt for a living can be licensed to do so.

It would be nice if President-elect Obama had the time to focus his energies on repeal of the Second Amendment, but he first has to deal with a broken economy and the incredibly wrong-headed war started by his predecesso


So let's not use the constitution as an excuse. If the NFL owners are concerned about guns -- and they should be -- they need to make the union understand why it is important that it be concerned, too. Baseball, basketball and hockey should do the same thing. The leagues need to do something about their players and their guns.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120101335_2.html?hpid=topnews

[Jim Urban]

Mr. Feinstein is a Jackass!

[PegLeg45]

A picture is worth a 1000..........well....you know.........

[Sponsor]

[cooptire]

Fienstein, a Jew against guns. I wonder if he is against the 1st Amendment as well, or if he is just against it when it contradicts what he wants, like b-ho. I wonder if he is against railroads and fence makers as well. Those things did as much to kill Jews in WWII as did the guns, if you believe some peoples "logic." I don't understand it. And don't get me wrong, I am NOT anti-Semitic in any way! Israel, and it's citizens, is a nation I admire almost as much as I do the USA. I just wonder how so many people are so indifferent to history, and the facts.

Sorry, rant over for now.

[TAB]

All they have to do is put in the contract, " gun= fired"  thats all it would take.

[MikeBjerum]

Was watching Monday Night Football last evening and just got madder and madder about this.  Plexico's agent was on, but it was worthless.  He didn't say anything, but there isn't anything he can say with the legal issues and Plexico's football career at stake.  However, the idiot heads from ESPN felt the need to play good commentator bad commentator with the guy.  It was alternating questions from Mike (good) and Tony (bad) over what happened and what will the future be, to what was he doing with a gun and why would anyone have a gun.

The worst part was the constant scroll across the bottom that  reported Plexico was shot ... Get it right - The idiot shot himself - call it the self inflicted (accident or not) injury that it is.  The other is that he has been charged with two counts of illegally carrying a firearm.  If found guilty it is a mandatory 3.5 year sentence.  What about the discharge of the gun and endangerment to others?

I am as much against infringements of our Rights as anyone, and one of the dangers against us is when law breakers don't pay the price.  This guy was wrong on so many levels, and there is a battle between sports nuts to let him off and gun control to punish us all.  In my opinion we need to make sure Plexico pays the price for the crimes he committed, or we have no stance for the enforcement and refinement of existing law before enacting new control laws.

[Trevor]

Okay, Plaxico Burress made a mistake.  The problem though is the State and City of New York with its draconian antigun laws.  There is no reason the man should be facing felony charges.  He is though because New York has no respect for the RKBA.  Burress has earned his public ridicule, but what the State is now doing to him is the crime.  You may laugh and think he is getting what he deserves, but one day the same antigun machine may be coming after you.  Whether Burress is smart or not is not the point.  The point is New York hates guns and will harm anyone caught up in its snare of bad laws.  Those laws need to be repealed or reformed, but I seriously doubt anyone has the ability to do so.  It is too bad for Mr. Burress.  It is too bad for all of us. 

[MikeBjerum]

Trevor,

I agree that the laws suck, but they are the laws.  Plexico broke the law and must pay some price for it.  I stated how I felt about the maze of bad laws and needing to clean them up, but I also believe that before they pass anything new (which is our ultimate concern right now) they need to enforce what they have. 

Regardless of what they do with the carry issue, (which is what the two charges are now) they need to do something about the reckless discharge and endangerment.  The actual discharge and endangerment is an issue that will never leave the books, and I don't think should when dealing with stupidity.

The media needs to quit saying that he was shot ... The idiot shot himself!