December 4, 2008 11:35AM 

# David Kopel on the Plaxico Burress Prosecution 

By [David Rittgers](https://www.cato.org/people/david-rittgers) 

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Cato’s associate policy analyst, [David Kopel](https://www.cato.org/people/david-kopel), comes to the defense of New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress in [today’s *Wall Street Journal*](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9820). The *WSJ* law blog is hosting a [discussion](http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/12/04/free-plaxico-is-sentencing-law-facing-burress-unconstitutional/).

The restrictive permitting system in New York [allows for the rich and celebrities](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/a-guide-to-city-gun-licenses/?pagemode=print) such as Robert DeNiro, Donald Trump, Howard Stern, and Harvey Keitel to carry a concealed weapon. Average, law-abiding citizens and non-residents are given no consideration.

This news comes hot on the heels of [Brian Doherty’s](http://www.reason.com/staff/show/132.html) book, *[Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle over the Second Amendment](http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=cats&scid=47&pid=1441412)*, and our [book forum](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5333) (archived in video and podcast form).

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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