Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress may be one of the most naturally talented receivers in the National Football League. No one has ever questioned that ability. A few have questioned his toughness, some when he was in Pittsburgh called him "Plexiglass." Of course next to Hines Ward an Abrams tank looks weak in comparison. This weekend his current team and the NFL had reason to question his judgment.

From what has been said so far, Burress walked into a nightclub in New York and exited with a gunshot wound in the leg. The bullet came from his own gun. Supposedly he had already been nursing a hamstring injury and was not playing this weekend anyway. (By the way, doctors suggest that those suffering from leg injuries stay home to heal instead of going out in public and shooting themselves.)

Now in this country we have the natural right to bear arms. That right lies enshrined in our Constitution. However there are so many just itching to infringe upon that right, especially when it comes to people protecting themselves. On the face of it, all Burress did was offer those people more ammunition.

One has to wonder why a person needs a gun in a nightclub. To me, a nightclub is a place I would go to have fun. If I felt so uncomfortable that I needed a gun, I would find somewhere else to go because feeling uncomfortable and anxious is simply not fun. I have lived around guns all my life and have grown up in a gun culture, but have never felt compelled to wear one into a bar. I imagine that if you go to any given bar or club in the Potomac Highlands you probably would find very few people carrying guns.

Perhaps Burress feared for his life and vowed to not change his lifestyle. If this is the case and there is a direct threat to his person, that would make this understandable. If he did it to simply look tough and gangsterish, then that is the mentality of a ten year old.

The problem is that there are people with legitimate reasons to conceal and carry. Social workers risk their lives going into homes. Females especially may need to carry a gun. Women breaking away from psychopathic boyfriends or husbands need personal protection everywhere they go. Every time some professional athlete trying to look gangster shoots himself or someone else in a public place, it places the rights of those that need personal protection in danger.