There is no bigger advocate for criminal control than me, so long as we do not go about manufacturing criminals out of otherwise law-abiding people.I went to some lengths in the podcast this week to make the same point — Burress deserves our support, because the New York City law is in direct violation of our Constitution. Period. Exclamation point!
Enter New York Giants player Plaxico Burress. He accidentally blew a hole in his leg with his Glock handgun while in a New York City nightclub. His list of crimes against responsible gun handling is too long to share with you here. He's a Numbnut of the Year award winner.
Ah, but this is even more idiotic: New York City is going to throw the Sullivan Gun Law book at Burress for merely having a handgun.
Only a select few people are given permits to carry a gun in the Big Apple. For this, Burress could get quite a few years at the Cross Bars Hotel.
Criminal thugs, of course, are not deterred from carrying guns by New York City's draconian gun laws. Mayor Blowhard Bloomberg and other Big Apple elected buffoons who forbid NYC citizens from defending themselves are complicit in turning innocent, law-abiding citizens into defenseless victims.
By review: Gun-free zones, are a murderer's dream zone.
My pal Don Worsham turned me on to this essay on Law Dog's blog, a "meditation" on stopping power:
To my mind, none of these [stopping power] formulas are capable of quantifying the most important part of stopping power.Amen to that! I know you're waiting for me to tell you what Marshal Halloway and I were in the frozen tundra looking at...sorry! You will be amazed and surprised, but not today!
This is not to say that your choice of sidearm and your choice of calibre aren't important in your search for "stopping power" ... but there is another variable that is much more important than bullet size and velocity.
You.
It doesn't matter how big a hole the bullet makes ... if you don't carry the gun that fires it.
It doesn't matter how fast that bullet is going ... if you never practice with the gun that fires it.
I'm not as sympathetic of Plax because of his appallingly unsafe gun-handling. But here is a point that I would like to make in his defense:
ReplyDeleteThe Sullivan Law is directly responsible for Plax's wounding, because if NYC offered CCW permits to all law-abiding adult citizens, Plax would have had to go to a gun-safety class to get his license. And in that class he would have learned that a Glock must be carried in a holster.
Plax obviously felt he needed some protection, or maybe he thought he could get away with it because of his "celebrity".
ReplyDeleteHe's lost his career, the team is in huge trouble for not reporting, and no one was hurt but him. He should walk.
But then, Bloomberg should be in jail, so fair is where you take your pig I guess.
PS: I'll see your tundra, MB, and raise you our blizzard - 12 hours now and no sign of letting up. -10 temps, 40mph winds, and snow.
Plax won't serve a day in jail. He will play again. Hell if OJ were younger, he would have been playing the weekend after he decapitated his wife. This is America ! We love our jocks, rockers and movie idols.
ReplyDeleteThe guy broke the law. He knew he was breaking the law, and he didn't care.
ReplyDeleteWhy did he carry the gun? Because he wanted to. He's one of the privileged ... he can afford to hire bodyguards, who can legally carry a firearm. Why didn't he, if he felt threatened? Because he felt he was "Above The Law". Unfortunately, he's not even a Steven Segal. He's just an irresponsible jerk.
Then he tucked it into the waistband of his sweatpants. Great retention system, you irresponsible jerk.
Then he sat himself down at a bar, and the pistol (almost inevitably) slipped out. He made a grab for it and in the process managed to trip the safety (if it was on) and pull the trigger. Great gun-handling skills, you irresponsible jerk.
Then he got his friends to slip him out of the bar, drove around looking for a hospital which wouldn't turn him in for a gun-shot wound, and gave a fictitious name when he checked in. Great that you take responsibility for your own actions, you irresponsible jerk.
I have absolutely no sympathy for the man. He made bad decisions all the way down the line, and in the process managed to make responsible gun owners look bad.
The world doesn't see him as responsible; instead, they see him as the poster boy for all gun owners. This is not the representative I would choose, but Michael ... you are attempting to accord him that place of prominence.
Bad call Mister B.
This is one wanna-be gangster who deserves no greater honor than to be thrown under the wheels of the bus.
I don't like Bloomberg, nor NY gun laws, but at least Bloomberg is who and what he says he is.
Let's take a vote on who should be thrown out of the Troika.
No, you are not allowed to choose both Bloomberg and "Plax".
What a pair of maroons!
Burress was an idiot. Carrying a handgun in the waistband of jogging pants. I have never seen jogging pants that could handle the weight of a pistol simply tucked in. If he would have simply tucked it in a holster on the waistband he would have played football today.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bloomberg is draconian. And I understand the desire to carry a concealed firearm for personal protection. I want to carry myself, but since I live in Illinois, which is dictated by the Union of Soviet Socialist Chicagoans, no such luck.
Plax gives all of us a black eye, and that makes bloomberg so happy. God help the Republic. the mushroom
ReplyDeleteSorry, I can't get behind this guy. He HAD an (expired) Florida CCW permit -- he's at least had the training required to obtain that and should have been drilled on the 4 fundamentals rules in addition to being made aware that if weapons are prohibited regardless of permitted carry status (as in a private club or on the streets of NY) we must comply with those laws.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's not as "manly" to hire an armed bodyguard as it is to arm up yourself, but for the love of God the guy violated a handful of laws in addition to exercising epic bad judgement. If we want to advocate carrying -- open OR concealed, we cannot hoist this fool up onto our shoulders.
There are plenty of examples of Draconian gun laws for us to push ahead of us in an attempt at (legally) pushing for a lift on restrictions without invoking the name of a celebrithug who, for some reason unknown to ANYONE thought it would be a good idea to toss a Glock into his sweats and hit lower Manhattan.
Michael, I know you've had some close ties to NYC and I fully agree we need to find a way to shut down their bans on lawful carry but this one's not the answer. Not even if Nike released a line of concealed carry holsters endorsed by Plaxico himself.