Posted on 03/03/2010 12:51:17 PM PST by PurVirgo
SEATTLE Coffee chain Starbucks Corp. is sticking to its policy of letting customers carry guns where it's legal and said it does not want to be put in the middle of a larger gun-control debate.
The company's statement, issued Wednesday, stems from recent campaign by some gun owners, who have walked into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. Gun control advocates have protested.
The fight began heating up in January in Northern California and has since spread to other states and other companies, bolstered by the pro-gun group OpenCarry.org.
Some of the events were spontaneous, with just one or two gun owners walking into a store. Others were organized parades of dozens of gun owners walking into restaurants with their firearms proudly at their sides.
Now, gun control advocates are protesting the policy. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, launched a petition drive demanding that the company "offer espresso shots, not gunshots" and declare its coffeehouses "gun-free zones." And Wednesday, that group planned to deliver 28,000 signatures to the coffee giant's headquarters in Seattle.
The group also held a press conference near Seattle's Pike Place Market, just a few yards away from the where the first Starbucks cafe opened. Gun rights advocates showed up as well, some carrying handguns in holsters around their waists.
"They're putting their workers in harm's way by allowing people to carry guns into their stores, especially open carry," Mantel said.
More than a dozen pro-gun supporters, some with Starbucks coffee cups in hand, chanted during the press conference, at points interrupting speakers.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
How smart of Starbucks, and how stupid of the gun-grabbers. Yeah, you are so unsafe having a person carrying a legally owned firearm out there for the world to see. Because we know almost all criminals don’t hide their guns, right?
I still gotta have one cup minimum. I usually have a small cup on shooting days to take care of the DT's. Then I take a small handfull of Kava Kava, kind of like a legal herbal tranquilizer. They really work and calm me down and kill any shakes.
I’ve not seen that before. Excellent.
If coffee was the worst thing I ever put into my body, I wouldn’t worry too much about the shakes.
How come DisneyWorld hasn’t asked not to be the center of Gay Day controversy?
Starbucks supports the gay agenda, I went in to buy a mocha or latte about 5 years ago. The cup that my coffee was in had some homo’s sob story about being mistreated, I’ve maybe had starbucks one time since then, I get a really icky feeling just being inside their store.
The last retail chain to take sides in a Second Amendment battle was Hechingers Home Improvement. And they aren’t around to tell the tale any longer.
I hope I’m wrong, but I think Starbucks will eventually cave...
>> The cup that my coffee was in had some homos sob story about being mistreated?
Yeah, I’ve noticed a few WTF “stories” - a pathetic, touchy-feely, hip gimmick that apparently went away.
Talk about forcing it down your throat.
I don’t shoot competitively but do a lot of benchrest work and handgun work on targets.
I’m impressed. The most I’ve ever done were postal matches.
Time to start pasting “gun free zone” posters to all Starbucks buildings.
Whatever Starbucks wants to do is alright with me. I’d leave it up to them, being a private establishment..
I actually deliberately bought coffee from Starbuck’s instead of Peet’s (across the street from each other) yesterday because of the gun thing.
I pay $2.80 for a latte.
Coffee plain is like $2.
Starbucks knows that 2nd Amendment rights cross party lines. A whole lot of Starbucks customers are both liberal and 2A supportive.
Open carry DOES deter criminals before the action gets started. I’ve seen gun-grabbers say things like, “Show me just one example, just one!!” OK, see:
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d18-Open-carry-deters-armed-robbery-in-Kennesaw
Still too much for this skinflint. I don’t drink coffee, anyway...
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