City flatly denies worker's claims of being fired for concealed carry permit — but there's more

The city of Roanoke, Virginia, responded to the unjust termination claims of one of its former employees, who alleged that she was fired from her social working position for possessing a concealed carry permit.

According to city officials, it simply didn't happen that way.

What's the background?

Storm Durham, the former social worker in question, claimed the city fired her for simply possessing a permit to carry concealed weapons — and noted that she wasn't even carrying a weapon at the time of her termination.

Durham shared her story on social media Friday, detailing how police officers allegedly escorted her out of the social services building because management deemed her a "safety risk." Durham wrote that she had never brought her firearm with her to work.

Her story eventually went viral and caught the attention of many.

"I was fired today due to having a concealed carry permit," she wrote. "Was my gun on me? No. Has it ever been on me during my job, or visits, or anything related to work? No. When I told them that it has never been on me during work, what did they say? ‘How do we know that.’ Search me. Do I have a criminal record? No."

Durham has said that she plans to sue the city for discrimination.

How did the city respond?

The city of Roanoke is now claiming that Durham's termination was wholly unrelated to her decision to exercise her Second Amendment rights.

The Roanoke Times reported that a city statement released Saturday cited a policy against commenting on personnel matters, but added, "In light of these assertions ... it is important to note that the City of Roanoke respects the Constitutional rights of its citizens and that the dismissal in question was not based upon anyone's exercise of such rights."

The Times also reportedly obtained an internal city memo, which purportedly addressed the controversy.

"The actions taken by the City were not based upon the former employee’s right to hold a concealed carry permit for firearms," Human Resources Director Michele Vineyard reportedly wrote in the memo. "I want to emphasize that we have no policy or procedure limiting the right of employees to hold concealed carry permits as authorized by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. We respect and support the Constitutional rights of our employees as citizens."

Anything else?

Durham eventually said that, in addition to the city allegedly terminating her over the concealed carry permit, other reasons were cited for her firing, including failure to adhere to dress code and failure to maintain workload standards.

Durham told social media users skeptical of her story that she had proof that the city fired her over the concealed carry permit, but she was "not showing that paper until I talk to my lawyer Monday."

Durham has yet to offer up the paper in question.

Durham has also set up a crowdfunding page, rekindled a dormant YouTube channel called "The Conservative Storm," set up a Facebook fan page, and has given countless interviews about the alleged incident.

Durham most recently told The Roanoke Times that she likes sharing her story, and feels like "God maybe put something in my lap [so] I could maybe further my career ... on a different career path."

She also noted in a Facebook live video that she would like to become an NRA spokesperson.