[Kevin]

I don't know about the car insurance issue (but I have a hard time condemning someone for forgetting to make an insurance payment), but the gun charges, IMHO are over the top. I think the area's gun control schemes are utterly ridiculous.

I come from a state where just about anyone can pay a fee, take a class, and get a license to carry a concealed weapon. To my knowledge, we've never had an illegal shooting by one of these licensees, so gun ownership, in itself, isn't a problem.

I think a lot of these NFL players rightly see themselves as being particularly attractive targets for criminals. I think they don't want to end up like Sean Taylor. I understand that quite a few of them carry weapons with them for that reason. Now, Burress probably knew the law and he probably broke it anyway. In his situation, I can actually understand the rationale -- protecting one's life and health at the expense of possibly getting caught breaking the law.

I'm not sure that excuses his criminal conduct, but my understanding is that it's a lot harder to get a conceal and carry permit where he was as compared to Oklahoma. I do think that, if this was part of his thinking, that it should weigh heavily as a mitigating factor and that I sincerly hope he doesn't have to go to jail for this.

As for the insurance issue, I probably have a little less sympathy there in that it's idiotic to be wealthy, drive a pricey car, and let your insurance lapse because you make an awfully attractive prospect for a lawsuit. That said, I'm sure he has the money to cover whatever the damages were in this accident, so just as before, Burress will be the only real victim of his crime.