What if David Desper had not had a loaded gun in his car?

This item is going to get me into some trouble.

I seem to have a knack for that these days.

I have been taking some heat, especially from our faithful social media followers (God, I wish all those people would buy a copy of the print edition of the newspaper, or at least subscribe online) concerning our coverage of a motion filed in court by the man who admitted fatally shooting a young girl who had just graduated from high school during a road-roage incident in Chester County.

In the filing, David Desper, who happens to live here in Trainer, Delaware County, is described by his defense as a "kind, gentle and caring man."

When we posted that on Facebook, it did not sit well with a lot of people, many of whom were outraged not only at Desper, but at the newspaper.

For some reason, they seemed to believe that we were offering this description of Desper. Of course, that was not the case. We were merely reporting what was in the petition filed with the court.

But there is something about this case that I have been thinking since we first reported on it two summers ago.

But first let me preface it by saying this is not any kind of anti-Second Amendment screed. I can be dense at times, but I'm not stupid.

I fully understand that the Second Amendment - which guarantees a citizen's right to bear arms - is not going away. Nor should. That's right, I would never endorse a ban. Some people might be surprised by that.

To recount the Desper case, he and Bianca Roberson, a recent Rustin High School grad in West Chester, were apparently jockeying for position on Route 100 where it slims from two lanes down to one where it merges onto Route 202.

For some reason, Desper pulled out a gun he kept in the car and fired a single shot at the car beside him. It struck Roberson, whose care then veered off the road and came to rest next to a tree.

Desper fled the scene, touching off a regional and national hunt for the red pickup truck scene fleeing the scene on surveillance video.

Desper has offered some insight into what happened, but not a lot. He indicated he never saw the person in the car next to him, only that he was in fear for his safety. That's a position, by the way, that the judge who sentenced him to 20 to 40 years in jail rejected.

Desper claims he did not realize he had killed someone until later, when he became aware of news reports of the incident. He eventually turned himself in a few days later.

Here is what has bothered me about this case since that very first day.

Can anyone make the argument that Bianca Roberson would not be alive today if David Desper had not had a loaded gun in that car?

Maybe he would have shouted at the car beside him, or perhaps even flipped the driver off. We've all had those kinds of angry traffic interactions while behind the wheel.

I know I have.

I also know that very rarely do they ever rise to the occasion of pulling out a gun.

And I know that if David Desper had not had a gun with him in that car, it's very likely Bianca Roberson would be alive today.

Let me make some admissions here. Desper legally owned the gun, and he had a legal permit to carry.

There has been some efforts in the Legislature to introduce a law that would prevent people from carrying a loaded gun in their vehicle.

As usual such efforts have been harshly criticized by gun rights activists.

Maybe they're right.

Maybe David Desper would have simply ignored the law and carried the weapon in his car anyhow. He certainly would not be the first. And those who oppose gun reform always make that argument, that those who don't obey the law in the first place would continue to flout it.

But if we are to believe the description offered by his attorney in seeking a lesser sentence, I would think maybe that would not be the case. Would a "kind, gentle and caring man" such as Desper willingly ignore such a law?

I don't think for a second that contemplating such a law going is to change the mind of a single gun advocate.

But I'd like to underline that word "single."

If such a law saved a "single" life, would it be worth it?

I think the family and friends of Bianca Roberson who continue to mourn her loss would answer that in the affirmative.