Columnist Dan Daly attacks NY Jet Safety Damien Robinson ....

[WAGCEVP]

.......for having a Bushamaster rifle locked in his trunk!


http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20011019-8289617.htm

Let this anti-gun weenie have it. Send a letter to the editor!

letters@washingtontimes.com




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[Rob62]

This is the best part of the article:

"But also in the trunk were three magazines that hold 30 rounds each and two boxes of ammunition containing 200 more rounds. A person could do a lot of damage if he got his hands on that stuff. He could wipe out an entire police department ................................... How could he be riding around the New York area — in a very steal-able car, no doubt — with a small arsenal in his trunk?"

The rifle was ID'd (I think even though the author never actually said it was) as a ".223 Bushmaster"

HA HA HA HA HA, I KNEW it. Sooner or later 1 rifle, 3 magazines, and a couple of hundred rounds of ammo would be "a small arsenal".

Now to figure out what I and many people here own ??.......... a large arsenal.......an arsenal large enough to outfit an army.......

Rob

[Jeff Thomas]

For some even greater distortions of this non-event ... here is a different article regarding the same incident. I've highlighted my favorite parts. Leave it to the AP to look like ignorant fools.

Read this crap a couple of times ... this is an absolutely grotesque smear of an honest guy who simply had a rifle and a small amount of ammunition LOCKED IN HIS CAR! Does the reporter or any other anti-self defense fool consider for a moment all of the fully automatic M-16's locked in police cars all over this country!?

They're going to "counsel" him no less. Are people in New Jersey insane?

We're told by our government every day now to be alert against terrorism ... but this guy can't keep a semiauto rifle in his car. Incredible.



http://www.boston.com/dailynews/290/...about_a:.shtml

Robinson keeping quiet about arrest
By Barry Wilner, Associated Press, 10/17/2001 14:58
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) A contrite Damien Robinson admitted Wednesday to making ''a bad mistake,'' one that has drawn a $30,000 fine and plenty of quizzical looks from his New York Jets teammates.

Robinson was arrested Sunday and released on his own recognizance after being charged with taking an assault rifle into a Giants Stadium parking lot. He played in the 21-17 victory over Miami.

The Jets fined him one game's pay and ordered Robinson, a free safety, to undergo counseling and perform community service. Before practice Wednesday, Robinson answered a few questions, but refused to answer many others, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

'' I wanted to say I am sorry for my teammates and family and for the Jets' organization for the situation that has happened,'' said Robinson, who signed with the team as a free agent in the offseason. ''I can't get into too much about it, the case still is pending. I appreciate the way I was treated ... and will try to get past this thing, and maybe at a later date I can go into more details.

''I think it was a bad mistake. I'm just trying to get over it.''

Robinson, who claimed he inadvertently left the rifle and ammunition in the trunk after going to the practice range last week, said he couldn't put things completely aside while playing Sunday.

''Yeah, just trying to play with something that serious on my mind was always in the back of my mind,'' he said. ''I tried to just support my team.''

Police found in the trunk of Robinson's truck a Bushmaster .223 assault rifle, three high-capacity magazines that hold 30 rounds each, and two boxes of ammunition containing 100 rounds each. The rifle and the magazines are illegal under a 1990 New Jersey law that bans the sale and possession of many kinds of automatic weapons. (JT note ... that is my "favorite" piece of proganda from this "story")

Coach Herman Edwards, who recruited Robinson away from Tampa Bay where Edwards coached the secondary for five years said Robinson now must deal with a tarnished reputation.

''Your money and fame mean nothing, it is your name. Everything you do in your life, your name is put on it,'' Edwards said. ''He put himself in a situation where he made a mistake and everything he does good gets a little smeared now.

''But he is a good young man who has done a lot of good things. He's going to have to go through it for a while, it will be difficult, but he will come through. I fined him for what he did and it was substantial. We have to move on.''

The NFL still is investigating the case.

''We will review the matter, including the disciplinary action taken by the Jets yesterday,'' said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, who added the league would not rule out further discipline by commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Robinson's teammates generally were mum on the subject,

Fellow defensive back Ray Mickens said: ''It was a big mistake, but an honest mistake. He forgot, just like sometimes I do. I forget my wallet in places.''

''He did something, and he'll have to pay the price for it,'' Mickens said. ''We all support him 100 percent.''

[Mad Max]

The guy who wrote that is an idiot. What are the chances of someone stealing his car, finding the weapon, then deciding to wipe out an entire police department? He is obviously playing off of peoples sentiment about dead police officers, and the WTC reference right off the bat is sickening. Everyone should write the editor.

[Benjamin]

A person could do a lot of damage if he got his hands on that stuff.

A person the size of a pro football player can already do a lot of damage, simply by virtue of their size and strength. Further, any person can cause 'a lot of damage' with the SUV that he was driving.

[Monkeyleg]

The media has been walking a line so fine that one of us should be able to break it. They're calling Robinson's rifle an "assault weapon," while they refer to the M16's our troops in Afghanistan are carrying as simply "rifles."

One of todays news stories mentioned the Absolute Poo-Bah of the Taliban holding a "machine gun." My guess is that he was holding an AK, full auto.

Let's call the media on this. No, there won't be a large-scale letter writing campaign by gun owners. But every single call or letter should ask the editor: what's the difference between an M16 and an AR15? What is an "assault weapon?" Pressure them to differentiate between the banned guns and the standard-issue rifle to our troops for over 30 years.

These damned editors and journalists have put us in the spot we're in. Maybe I'm too naive, but I'd like to think that they can be forced to admit their faults.

[Scott Conklin]

Maybe I missed it somewhere but, umm, if it was locked in his trunk how did the cops find it and why were they looking in the first place?

[dZ]

bomb snifing doggies flagged his SUV at the players parking lot

[Justin]

I think that the cops found it when a bomb-sniffing dog displayed signs of having found something.

[Oleg Volk]

If no drugs were found, would the other findings of the search even be admissible in court?

[Jim March]

Can you say "second amendment test case"?

Mind you, he'll lose in every single court on the way up the US Supremes. But once he gets there...danged if this ain't a "militia weapon" per Miller and it's use of Aymette.

[Guyon]

This drivel makes me feel ill. What makes me the sickest is that everyone in these two articles operates under the assumption that he committed some sort of evil act--even his own coach. Not a single thinking soul among them, aside from perhaps his teammate who said he sometimes misplaces his wallet and that he supports Robinson.

What in the hell is coming of this world, where ownership of a semi-automatic rifle gives everyone a right to villify the "offending" party? What are these people scared of, and why are they so scared?



Actually, the barf symbol doesn't do justice to how folks like "I've Wet My Britches" Daly make me feel. Someone should ship him off to Afghanistan.

Stuff like this makes me want to mail money to the NRA. In fact, I may send a check tomorrow.

[LevelHead]

In NJ Having ANY gun in your trunk/car/person/not home is illegal, unless you are going directly to/from the range to/from home. NJ sucks hard (Giants stadium where the NY Jets play is in NJ).

All guns are illegal in NJ excepct for certain "exceptions" like home, the range, and going to/from the range. There are certain exceptions to THAT rule if you belong to a gun club.

As for the legality of the gun itself, if it was a preban it was illegal in NJ period (unless registered - yes registered back in '90). If it was postban then no problem with ownership.

The mags are illegal unless blocked to 15 rounds (a fact I'm sure nobody at the scene or in the press cared about or checked).

As for what happened, of course we all know its BS. I'm sure it was all legal and he got screwed. When he cowtowed to the media, we got screwed just a little bit more.

The entire thing stinks from start to finish, but I'm a little peeved that he wouldn't stand up for his rights. Someone in the spotlight could make a difference.

...and yes, the puking smily doesn't do this justice.

From the 2nd ammendment violation to the illegal search violation, its one big NJ suck-fest.

-LevelHead-

[RikWriter]

I am a bit torn on this particular incident. On the one hand, I completely support Damien Robinson's right to have that AR in his trunk under the US Constitution.
But on the other hand, he DOES play for the stinking NY Jets...

[Quartus]

Are people in New Jersey insane?

Well, most of 'em seem to be liberals. Pretty much the same thing, right?

[Jeff Thomas]

I hear you on that one. I know someone who lives in NJ, and she told me that all of this terrorist activity lately had here wondering if someone in her neighborhood had a gun ... meaning, she would feel safer if one of her neighbors was prepared to defend the neighborhood!

I explained that it was good that she was beginning to think about self defense, but frankly, a friendly neighbor with a gun is a good thing, but if TSHTF, that neighbor is going to be focused upon defending their own home and family. I encouraged her to think about her own defense. She's thinking about it.

My guess ... she'll never figure it out. Too liberal.

And yes, I agree ... in a sense, it often does translate into a naive form of insanity.


It was crappy they way Damien just rolled right over, wasn't it? Dam* shame. You can almost picture him licking someone's boot from the way he's talking.

Regards from AZ

[Southla1]

"All guns are illegal in NJ excepct for certain "exceptions" like home, the range, and going to/from the range."


Damn good thing I don't live in NJ because I would be ONE ILLEGAL SOB!

[David Park]

The recent editorial "Another jock goes mindless" by Dan Daly has me scratching my head. The Washington Times has a reputation as a conservative newspaper, and conservatives have a reputation for supporting the right to bear arms, including for self defense. I have to believe that this article was meant to appear in the Post but was misdirected on the way to the printers.

Many Americans reacted to the September 11 attack by buying guns in record numbers, some apparently realizing for the first time that they alone are responsible for protecting themselves and their families. Jets player Damien Robinson presumably decided it was a good time to practice at the range. Mr. Daly, instead of seeing the sense in this, was so freaked out by the security at Giants Stadium (to which he presumably drove, obviously being to panicky to fly) that he felt the need to demonize Robinson by equating his presumably honest mistake with wiping out police departments.

If Mr. Daly thinks a rifle locked in the trunk of an SUV is "scary to even think about" then he presumably never visits Virginia, where residents like myself have the right to carry concealed handguns, even inside (gasp!) sports stadiums. To my knowledge, no permit holder has wiped out a police department, much less a pack of bed-wetting journalists, but Mr. Daly will probably feel safer in "gun free zones" like Washington, D.C., where as we all know random shootings are not a problem.

Instead of sensationalist editorials, I'd like to see a little honest reporting about this case. For example, I haven't read exactly which of New Jersey's ridiculously oppressive firearms laws Damien Robinson is accused of violating. I'd also like to know why a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle in the hands of a private citizen is labeled an "assault rifle", "dangerous weapon", and "toy"; and why three magazines and 200 rounds of ammo are considered an "arsenal". The fully automatic version of the same rifle, the M-16, and the same amount of ammunition in the hands of a Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan would be considered standard equipment, and would be reported without hyperbole.

Mr. Daly asks, "We all know sports figures live insulated lives, but how could he be so blissfully unaware of society's circumstances?" I would like to ask Mr. Daly the same question. In a time when we are asking our young men to fight and die to protect our country and preserve our freedom, how can he be so eager to criticize someone for exercising that freedom, and presumably wanting to ban these "toys" completely. I regard Damien Robinson as a patriot, and Dan Daly as a coward and a traitor.

David Park
Alexandria, VA