Another case of a misunderstood employee and his gun.
David Weber and his lawyer insist that he was only exercising the rights available to him in the state of Maryland when he applied for a concealed carry permit. Also, his position as the assistant inspector general of investigations at the SEC allowed him to carry a weapon. The problem arises when you combine a disgruntled employee with a loaded weapon in the office - never a good combination.
Weber and his attorney would probably dispute his being labeled disgruntled. But even Weber would admit that at the time of his application for a concealed carry permit, he was upset because he felt that allegations of misconduct that he had made about higher-ups in his agency were the reason for his termination on October 31.
It does not work in his favor that Weber has stated that his termination was part of a conspiracy. The words "conspiracy" and "concealed weapon" do not go well together.
Weber's supervisors probably felt that they had no choice but to fire him. He was first suspended from duty in May after co-workers reported that they felt physically threatened by Weber when he spoke about wanting to bring a gun to work. It did not help that at one point Weber brought a bullet proof vest into the office.
I should clarify a point - Weber was not merely suspended; apparently Weber was placed on leave on May 8 after internal security personnel revoked his SEC identification and banned him from entering SEC headquarters in Washington D.C.
The bottom line is that the SEC would have been up the proverbial creek had they not fired Weber and he later hurt someone while exercising his constitutional rights.
The lesson: don't expect to be warmly embraced by your co-workers if you talk about bringing bullet proof vests and concealed weapons in the office. Unless you work in Texas.
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