the plaxico burress mess

as most of you already know, i'm a fan of guns. not so much a fan of kids with guns, or criminals with guns, or the process of defining gun laws, but i'm a fan of owning and shooting a gun. today, however, i'm coming down on the more "liberal" side of the fence (which ironically feels to me more like a conservative position than a liberal one. whatever...politics are weird).

anyway, to my rant: i've been listening to plaxico burress' explanation of how it was he came to accidentally shoot himself in the leg at a night club. first of all, i don't think he's the brightest of fellows. what kind of professional, athlete or otherwise, packs a gun in his pants in a public place? who are you? tupac? 50 cent? if you want to carry a concealed weapon, for which you have a permit in florida, why haven't you invested in a holster in which you can safely carry said weapon? i imagine you probably have to cut some serious financial corners with your multi-million dollar contract. probably not. and, having that CCW, you should have been educated on how to safely handle a weapon. looks like you failed that test. someone needs to go back to his CCW class and actually pay attention. (applicable movie quote: oh i forgot, you were absent the day they taught law at law school).

now, don't get me wrong, i feel for the guy. it must suck to be a poster-child for stupidity, harsher gun laws, and the reason athletes get a bad rap. i know his good buddy steve smith was robbed the night before at that club, but i agree with mike and mike (in the morning). if you have to pack heat to go to a certain establishment...don't go there. or, don't take the gun. you're a stinking professional athlete. invest in a bodyguard. i mean, what are you going to do if someone tries to rob you? shoot him? oh yes, that's a much better scenario. now, along with your illegal possession of a firearm, you're facing manslaughter charges. is this explanation supposed to make us understand why you were packing heat? cause it doesn't. and, by the way plaxico, you're a pretty big dude. i'm sure you could handle yourself. stop trying to be a gangster and just play football.

or, go to jail. while i do think, in some ways, the system is using plaxico burress to send a message and i'm sure that his celebrity status hurt him in this case, i sincerely hope that it will encourage people to obey gun laws that are clearly in place to protect people from others and from their own stupidity. that said, good luck plax, and good luck winning without him giants.