Gun News Daily

Of the thousands of murders by guns in Washington D.C. since 1978, tell me how many were caused by law-abiding gun owners who had registered their firearms? Let me save you some time. The answer is a big fat ZERO!

Gilbert Arenas, NBA Washington Wizards guard, plead guilty to illegal weapons possession in Washington D.C. this past week. Arenas stored three, some reports say four handguns, in his Wizards locker room, which so happens to be within Washington D.C. city limits. Arenas said he removed the firearms from his home because of his children. Prosecutors in the case say they will seek no more than 2 years in prison.

Now, let's face it. I said it before; putting guns in your locker at work isn't the brightest move. And because of it he was suspended indefinitely by the NBA. The Wizards and the NBA have that right. But then the government stepped into the picture.

If Arenas had a history as a hardened criminal, a gang banger, drug dealer, or had a history of violence, it's fair to say that two years in prison is probably not enough. But Arenas has none of that in his background. In fact, he has no criminal record other than gun ownership and self-defense, which seems to be a criminal act in some locales, especially Washington D.C.

There are those who would say that Arenas needs to follow the rules. The rules suck. I don't agree with the rules. Despite a win with the Heller case, getting a permit in Washington D.C. is extraordinarily difficult and designed specifically to discourage the average person from even pursuing a permit. Can you imagine if Arenas applied for a gun permit in D.C.? The press would have an absolute hissy-fit over it. Look what they’ve done to him over this incident.

The media has been thoroughly disgusting in their reporting of this incident. Without saying it blatantly, they have reported this story suggesting the problem is that we have a 'black man, an athlete, with a gun, and you know what that means?' Yeah, I know what it means. It's called racism.

An African-American who owns guns is not automatically a danger to the public and a gang-banger. An African-American who owns guns doesn't mean they automatically promote inner-city violence among blacks, as some news stories suggested. And, an African-American who owns guns doesn't owe any city in this country the duty to be an unarmed victim. The same press that enjoys protection under the First Amendment for the purpose of ensuring that violations of our constitutional rights are brought to public light, are the same press that will have helped railroad Arenas into prison.

Of the thousands of murders by guns in Washington D.C. since 1978, how many were caused by law-abiding gun owners who had registered their firearms? Let me save you some time. The answer is a big fat ZERO! The problem in D.C. are criminals, not people like Gilbert Arenas. Having Gilbert Arenas, or any law-abiding citizen, register their firearms with local police will not have any effect on gun crimes in D.C. D.C. firearms registration is meant to discourage firearms ownership, not to solve or reduce crime. Criminals don't register their firearms, ergo, registration information is completely useless. It only takes a matter of minutes to go through a background check online. Why then would law-abiding citizens like Arenas, or you, need to go through a lengthy multi-month process and multiple trips to government agencies simply to own a firearm? Because they don't want you to own a firearm. And that is unconstitutional, pure and simple.

If Gilbert Arenas ends up in prison, or even probation with a felony record, this country, and the media owe him a big apology. Gilbert Arenas doesn't have a problem with the law; the law is the problem. It's wrong. People shouldn't be imprisoned for ownership of firearms simply because they didn't jump through hoops for six months like trained dogs at the local police station. People like Gilbert Arenas who travel from city-to-city and state-to-state should enjoy the freedom of self-defense nationwide, not here, or there, or never, depending what city they wake up in.

It's time for constitutional concealed carry nationwide. And, Gilbert Arenas should live his life without a felony weapons conviction on his record.