Your combined brilliance is staggering.

I defer to your expert wisdom!

A locker room pustule, it is then…

Surely, there can be no debating THAT! :)

A cyst?,
pustule?,
extreme rectal itch?,
or perhaps “a pimple on the a$$ of progress”?

Again, I don’t want to get into an extended argument about the law. However, there’s a chance that NY’s draconian gun laws are unconstitutional. In America, the US Constitution is the highest law in the land and similarly draconian gun laws were struck down last year as to DC (which is governed under federal law). As benjam explained, there is some debate as to whether this ruling pertains to the states. I understand why the gun laws are in place, but I still think a 3 1/2 year minimum prison sentence for carrying an UNLICENSED hand gun is ridiculous. You know, there’s a reason that the Manhattan DA (who is 100% independent from the Mayor) has not even convened a grand jury. The case stinks from the prosecutorial side. The last thing Morgy (or his successor) wants to do is allow a well-heeled defendant to test the hand gun laws all the way up to the Supreme Court (want to bet which way the Court will rule?). Moreover, there’s a real chance that an NY jury (made up of uber-liberals) could just decide that it’s unfair to convict Plax…that’s called “jury nullification.” Plus, there are likely career prosecutors that think trying a guy who shot himself in the leg and who lost millions of dollars as a consequence of it is not fundamentally fair.

IMO, there are many other ways NYC can achieve gun control without making not having a license a felony. How about if you commit a crime with a gun in your possession (whether licensed or not) you get an automatic, mandatory sentencing increase? Prosecute real crimes. Don’t criminalize otherwise lawful activities.

Plus, is it necessary to personalize this to me? “Ruin my day.” What does that mean? I’ve lived in 4 of the 5 boros and I was born in Manhattan. I know all about NYC history. The roots of crime are multi-faceted and based in socio-economic realities. To think that draconian gun laws, standing alone, will reduce the crime/murder rate is a false construct. Problem is that criminals can buy guns with impunity, but law-abiding citizens are burdened by harsh gun laws. For instance, until the Supreme Court struck down DC’s gun laws (on the books since 1976), DC had similarly draconian gun laws. That didn’t stop DC from having one of the highest murder rates in the US. So, Mike, sorry to “ruin your day” but harsh gun laws don’t work.

This article explains the DC problem better than I could:

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/8002.html

As for the Woody/Bloomy dynamic, I’ve written the same thing about a dozen times on this blog. So, on that point, we agree.

“I think I’m fed up of reading speculation about legalities and would prefer to talk about football!
I have no idea, but I’m sure the front office has their ear close to the ground.”

I only wish I were as concise as he. Sigh…

That said, let me throw my 2 cents in…

That ground Bent mentioned is the political landscape of NYC. This whole kerfluffle isn’t about “legalities,” it’s about “realities.”

I’ve read this thread and a couple of points are missing.

1) A duck’s not a swan just because you really, really want it to be. Sorry. NYC passed one of the toughest gun law codes in the country because of the high number of gun-involved crimes committed in the city at that time. It was an answer to a problem, not an attempt to ruin Sack’s day. It carries a 3 1/2 yr. mandatory sentence, on top of whatever other charge is levied against you. You like it; you don’t like it — who cares? It’s the law. Houston has the fourth-highest execution rate in the world. I don’t like that, but I can’t change it, so I don’t go to Houston. Sack, whether you personally like NYC law or not is immaterial, it’s the law on the books of NYC. Period. If no one tells that to NYC athletes, then bad on them. Anything PB’s lawyers get him short of 3 1/2+ is miraculous, and they go to the Lawyer HOF.

2) The main issue here — Forget about football. This isn’t remotely about football. You have a mayor (who has all the money in the world) who is waging a fierce big-money campaign for re-election (even without an opponent yet) because they wouldn’t allow him to be president. Everything that happens in NYC until next Nov. will be parsed through the lens of this election/coronation. However, there is currently a rotten economy in NYC, as with elsewhere — but this being NYC, the rot is bigger. The one upsetting issue Bloomberg does NOT want to deal with is a rise in crime in NYC due to the fact that everyone is broke. That would mean a rise in guns/violence/fear/blame for the Mayor — and he WILL NOT sit still for being blamed for any return to the ’70s which is certainly possible here. Plax stupidly dumped a ready-made issue right into Bloomberg’s lap, and Bloomberg will pet it and caress it as long as it suits his purposes. Mike is friends with Mara and Tisch, but he’s REALLY tight with Woody (it’s a billionaire thing, we wouldn’t understand), so hammering a Giant isn’t personal for him — just business. So, Bloomy sends a political PR dream message to one and all about how he’s tough on crime (and will protect you) by not tolerating “pampered celebrities” encouraging others to carry guns, even if you’re stupid enough to hurt only yourself. This is not about Plax in the least. It’s the greater message Bloomberg is sending to the city. And make no mistake. He WILL send it. And, gosh gee-willikers! If someone mistakenly reads racial overtones into Mike’s message, gee, what’s a Mayor to do, ya know? Legally, Plax is toast because it assists Bloomberg’s campaign for him to be toast. Simple. End of story.

3) As I said, Mike and Woody are very tight. Mike still owes Woody for not getting him the Manhattan stadium site Mike had promised him. You can safely assume that IF Plax plays this year, it will be for the Jets and for no one else. Talk of his playing anywhere else is fantastical twaddle. If any of the stringent laws of NYC — currently on the books — are quietly turned into a pretzel in some hushed conversation over drinks in the shadows within the next six months, it will be to allow Woody to have his toy after Mike is through using him.

4) Welcome to New York! Have a nice day!

sack-
great link to the law blog. i agree with you that 3-5 would be grossly infair, but no one thinks he’ll get anything close to that. harsh penalties like those are just a way to induce guilty pleas. maybe “draconian” isnt such a bad characterization…

“I talked to some of the teams that might be interested in former Giant Plaxico Burress if he’s free to play this year, and all of them are concerned about the ruling from the commissioner. No one in the league takes the personal conduct ruling lightly, but what concerned one team most was Burress’ five brushes with the law as a result of driving since the gun incident. Everyone I spoke to seems to feel the commissioner will come down hard on Burress and is fearful that he might not be able to play. The delay game Burress is attempting is not really helping his situation.”