On Burress, Bloomberg, and Ditka by John VellecoIn Super Bowl XLII, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burressmade the game-winning catch that ended the New England Patriots'chance for a perfect season. A few days ago, thanks to an extreme error, Burress brought his ownseason, and very possibly his career, to an abrupt end.Early Saturday morning, the normally sure-handed Burress fumbled ahandgun and accidentally shot himself in the thigh while illegallycarrying a gun in a New York City night club. He faces thepossibility of spending the next few years in prison.NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a man obsessed with taking awaypeoples' Second Amendment rights. He hates guns and, for the mostpart, doesn't allow anyone but the police and his own bodyguards tocarry firearms in the city. Burress' mistake gives the Mayor more ammunition to spread hislunacy. He has called for Burress' head on a platter, and he hasthe tools to accomplish the task. A 2007 law Bloomberg helped push through the state legislature makesillegally carrying a loaded handgun a Class 3 felony that carries athree-and-a-half year mandatory minimum prison sentence. It is a stupid and dangerous law that should be repealed. The SupremeCourt ruled recently that the Second Amendment protects an individualright to keep and bear arms. The right to own a firearm without theability to carry a gun for protection truncates the essence of theSecond Amendment. Law-abiding citizens should be encouraged to own firearms, be trainedhow to use them, and carry them for the protection of themselves,their loved ones and others. This would make our neighborhoods andour streets safer, as criminals would have to be much more selectivein choosing victims.There are plenty of laws on the books to punish people who misusefirearms (or baseball bats or knives, for that matter). And there areendangerment laws to deal with idiots who don't know how to properlyhandle a firearm. But whether one agrees with New York's law or not, it's stillincumbent upon the individual to know and follow it nonetheless.News reports indicate that Burress may have previously held a Floridapermit to carry a concealed firearm, but even if that were the case,the permit would not be valid in NYC. It was Burress'responsibility to know this and to carry his firearm legally (not tomention safely). This country's millions of concealed carry permit holders -- handsdown the most law-abiding segment of society -- are well versed inthe often convoluted gun laws and are meticulous in exercising theirright to keep and bear arms. Elitists like Mayor Bloomberg and President-elect Barack Obama lookdown their noses at "bitter" gun owners, yet every day millionsupon millions of citizens carry firearms legally and safely andsomehow manage to keep themselves out of the headlines, the hospitaland prison.Perhaps even more reckless than Burress' incident were commentsmade by legendary NFL player and coach Mike Ditka. According toDitka, no NFL players should be allowed to own a gun, period. Were it left up to Ditka, "I will have a policy, no guns, any NFLplayers we find out, period, you're suspended."C'mon Coach! No Constitutional rights? No legitimate self-defense?No sporting, hunting or target shooting? Does Da Coach really thinkthat all NFL players are as reckless as Burress? Iron Mike, who considered running against Barack Obama for U.S.Senate in 2004, likes to call himself a conservative, but he's allmixed up on the gun issue. If the NFL wants to get serious aboutcriminal activity, stop protecting players when they break the lawand institute conduct policies that deal with actual conduct and arenot designed to strip away constitutional liberties.In professional sports, as in the rest of society, criminals shouldbe treated as such. Responsible athletes (the vast majority) shouldnot be punished for the actions of a few, irresponsible players.*********************************************************************John Velleco is the Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners ofAmerica, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members. GOA is located at 8001 Forbes Place, Springfield, VA 22151 and at http://www.gunowners.org on the web.*********************************************************************