A man is working to legally carry a handgun in Maryland, writing in a 2017 application that his work with the Trump administration put him in danger.
Edward Holmes Whalen, then a staffer on the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee, has his case in front of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals after both the initial application to carry a gun and his appeal was denied, according to the Washington Post.
In Maryland, in addition to passing a background check and undergoing a training course, individuals who want to carry a handgun outside of their home must prove that there is a “good and substantial reason” for having it on them “such as finding that the permit is necessary as a reasonable precaution against danger.”
Whalen said in his application that the tense political atmosphere puts him at risk.
“I believe either me or my family, while traversing the State of Maryland,” Whalen wrote, “are at a greater risk to be exposed to hostile encounters with individuals who vehemently (and violently) oppose the President’s vision for our country, particularly as it relates to foreign policy and terrorism.”
“It is no secret that the political and social climate in the D.C. Metropolitan Area has become divisive and, at times, violent,” he added. “The threat of violence that is assumed by members of Congress, and their staff, is very real.”
In the application, Whalen also cited the fact that his father is a federal tax judge and that people might seek retributions for his judgments. In addition, he notes that he has been the victim of identity theft and serves as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner where he encounters constituents with “strong feelings” about his decisions.
There have been dozens of cases like Whalen’s brought forth in federal courts since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2008 decision District of Columbia v. Heller. The ruling affirmed that the Second Amendment gives people the right to own guns regardless of whether they served in the military.
The litany of litigation is likely heading to a Supreme Court showdown. Darrell A.H. Miller, co-director of Duke University’s Center of Firearms Law, said the considerations will boil down to two questions: “Where can you take guns? What kind of guns are protected?”
