Not only have David Stern's pleas to leave the guns at home been ignored, one player even brought his to work.

The commissioner could hand Gilbert Arenas a severe punishment whenever he decides to take action, but it seems clear Stern can't convince NBA players not to carry firearms.

As far as they're concerned, players have the right _ and maybe even the need _ to own weapons, as long as they're doing it legally.

"We're grown men. We protect our families. We protect our homes," said Knicks guard Larry Hughes, who isn't licensed to own a gun. "Whatever the case may be, whoever is bearing arms, I hope everything is done, you know, legally, but you have that right."

Arenas violated NBA rules by bringing guns to the Verizon Center locker room _ The New York Post reported he and Washington Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew on each other there _ but he's far from the only player owning weapons.

New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris told reporters he believed as many as 75 percent of the league's players own guns.

"I don't know because I don't know every guy in the NBA. I don't know what every guy personally has," Indiana Pacers guard T.J. Ford said. "As a society, I think a lot of people have protection within their home. But I don't think it's just an NBA thing. It's just a lot of regular people have protection in their home.

"Obviously it's not a problem if you have a license to carry a weapon. I think that's the ultimate key. If you have a license, can't nobody dispute the reason why you have a gun."

Ford owns a gun but said he doesn't carry it outside his home, a policy Stern prefers all players take. The commissioner called the issue of players carrying guns an "alarming subject" in October 2006, adding "that although you'll read players saying how they feel safer with guns, in fact those guns actually make them less safe."

That came about three weeks after Stephen Jackson, then with the Indiana Pacers, shot a gun in the air outside an Indianapolis strip club, telling police it was in self defense.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh was running the Pacers then, and he shares Stern's concerns about players traveling with guns.

"It's definitely something the league has directed itself to because they feel it is a problem. And if you look around, there's different instances where you find out it is a problem," Walsh said. "It's an issue. And normally I'm not for guns or against guns, but pro players, I think they put themselves in a tough position."