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Dismissal Erupts in Battle over Concealed Weapons Permit

creative commons

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A Virginia woman is planning to sue a social services department that she says fired her for having a concealed weapons permit.

Storm Durham tells The Roanoke Times she's working with Second Amendment advocacy group Virginia Citizens Defense League to pursue a lawsuit against the Roanoke Department of Social Services after her social media posts about her firing Friday went viral.

Durham says the department's assistant director said a concern about "workplace safety" listed on her termination notice regarded the permit. Other listed reasons included performance issues and arrogance.

Roanoke officials said in Saturday statement that they respect citizens' constitutional rights. In an internal memo obtained by the newspaper, human resources director Michele Vineyard emphasized that Durham wasn't fired for the permit.

Durham has since set up a YouTube channel called "The Conservative Storm."

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.