Senator Webb says needs gun for protection

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Jim Webb said on Tuesday he felt the need to carry a gun to protect himself, a day after an aide was arrested for taking a loaded weapon belonging to the lawmaker into a Senate office building.

"I believe it's important, it's important for me personally and for a lot of people in a situation that I am in, to be able to defend myself and my family," the Virginia Democrat told reporters. "Since 9/11, for people who are in government, I think in general there has been an agreement that it's a more dangerous time."

Webb pointed out that unlike the president, protection was not available to all lawmakers. Congressional leaders including the speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate majority leader receive protection by Capitol Police.

"We are required to defend ourselves and I choose to do so," Webb told reporters. While he has held a permit in the state of Virginia to carry a concealed weapon, Webb said he had not carried a gun into the Senate.

D.C. laws strictly limit the possession of firearms but Virginia law permits individuals to carry concealed guns in some cases.

The aide, Phillip Thompson, was arrested on Monday after a routine x-ray scan of his bag revealed that he was carrying a loaded pistol and two more full clips of ammunition into the office building, according to Capitol Police.

He told police that the firearm and bullets belonged to Webb, and that he had inadvertently left it in the bag, according to a police statement. Thompson said he had been holding the weapon for an unspecified number of days, it said.

Webb and his staff have repeatedly refused to confirm or deny whether the firearm was his or whether any of the several weapons he owns were missing.