Business & Tech

Starbucks Asks Customers Not to Bring Guns Into Stores

What do you think about Starbucks decision? Do you think other businesses should, or should not, ban or ask customers not to bring guns into businesses? Let us know in the comments' section.

Written by Amie Schaenzer

Starbucks has asked its customers in the United States to leave their guns at home. 

Starbucks has not issued an outright ban but has asked customers not to bring guns into its stores or outdoor patio areas and will publish full page advertisements in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post announcing the change, according to the USA Today. 

  • What do you think about Starbucks decision? Do you think other businesses should, or should not, ban or ask customers not to bring guns into businesses? Let us know in the comments' section. 
In the past, Starbucks' policy has been to follow local laws when it comes to open carry but recently decided to take a stance against allowing guns after debates over open carry have become increasingly uncivil, according to an open letter from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz posted on Starbucks website Tuesday.

Schultz said in the letter that pro-gun activists have "used stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called 'Starbucks Appreciation Days' that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of 'open carry.'"

"To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores. Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners," according to the letter. 

Businesses face several complex issues when it comes to concealed carry and deciding whether to ban firearms in their stores and businesses, according to a Daily Herald article. 
Illinois became the last state in the country to approve concealed carry this past summer but the average citizen can not yet carry a gun and "requirements for business signage on the subject remain a little unclear," according to the Daily Herald. 


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