There is a lot of commentary in the gun-blog world about Starbucks supposedly caving to the gun-control crowd.
I think you should first read the letter from their CEO.
This isn't all on them. There have been open-carry advocates who have been toting long guns into their stores. To my mind, open carry is inappropriate. In large settled areas, most people do not cotton to the sight of other folks openly carrying rifles and shotguns. The Black Panthers used to openly carry rifles and shotgun in California. Ronald Reagan fixed that right up.
Starbucks used not to care about guns. Starbucks is a business. They exist to sell (burnt and overpriced) coffee and to make money doing that. No rational businessman wants to see his company dragged into the middle of the culture wars. They want to keep their customers happy and go on about their business. Starbucks was asked by the hoplophobes to ban firearms. They refused and said that they'd just follow state and local laws. But that wasn't enough for the whackaloons, no, they had to openly carry rifles and shotguns into Starbucks to show how they appreciated Starbucks's' corporate policy.
I will say this, again: There is no decent reason for you or anyone else to be walking into a grocery store or a coffee shop with a rifle or a shotgun slung over your shoulder, not unless you're living in downtown Fallujah (or maybe Detroit). Taking a long gun into a gunshop with the action open for the gunsmith to look it over, to see if accessories fit, that's one thing. Going into Walgreens or Food Lion, that's quite another.
According to the FAA, I can hop into a 400hp turbocharged airplane and fly it back and forth over the center of my town at full throttle, 1,000' above ground, at four in the morning. But why the hell would I want to do that? Why would I want to annoy everyone?
Just because the law in your state doesn't say that you can't does not mean that you should. It's part of being a grown-up and living in a civilized society. If you need further explanation of that, I suggest that you go read this post.
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7 comments:
Oddly enough, I was in a Starbucks with friends a few weeks ago when a person came in with a handgun on his hip. Now, I have known peace officers who are required to carry, and they don't make themselves obvious. This person wanted to be seen.
My party immediately left! We had no desire to be anywhere near the kind of nutjob who thinks it's ok to waltz into a store with an obvious firearm. What happens if his overpriced calorie laden drink isn't perfectly prepared? Is he going to start shooting?
I can't be the only person who thinks this way. So every time somebody waves his penis-substitute -- er, sorry, I meant gun -- in a Starbucks, they lose money. Practical decision based on economics. The end.
SW, read that back to your self in a loud screaming voice. If it doesn't sound like a bit of rage or panic then you need to word it
very different. That and the "penis substitute" comment is just
plain rude.
I'm with EBM on this one. It's legal, and stupid, but people that
have a major underwear stain over it are as irresponsible as the
person with the gun. Ponder this, a cop walks in with the very
obvious uniform and exposed gun, do you get agitated or concerned?
if you do, then _you_ are having a problem.
Seems learning what is a threat, or simply stupid, needs review.
If the above is not clear... I go into a crowd and see two people
one with rifle slung across his back likely or visible unloaded
(no magazine) and a clean pasty faced guy with a bulging backpack
wearing dress shoes... Hint; what doesn't belong, the dress shoes
are not for hiking. Since the Boston Marathon which is more alarming?
That said, people get all worked up over an obvious and slung or
holstered and likely unloaded firearm I'm sure would have an
apoplexy attack at the idea that the person next to them could
also be carrying concealed and loaded legally. I'm not saying
those that carried it in in plain sight were right.
Myself I'd never do that. No good reason to bring an unloaded firearm
into a store unless I needed to get a part, repairs or maybe sell it.
Even then I'd put it in a gun case, if only to prevent those phobic
enough from having a panic attack and to keep it from getting scratched.
That said if I have the required license to carry concealed it will be
with me tucked in a safe but accessible place.
Eck!
Nope, the cop/security guard with a gun does not bother me. The guy with the dirty t-shirt, shorts, and prominent gun does. Sorry if I came across as shrill, and rest assured that we made no scene, just a quiet exit.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I do not consider a backpack to be out of place -- regardless of the apparel of the carrier -- anywhere there is a university.
I concede that the one line was over the top and if I could figure out a way to edit it I would.
I read that last link. I would love to be within hearing distance when the NWfreethinker told some of our Virginia good ol' boys that they're the leather queens of the 2nd Amendment.
Joe, would they even know that that meant?
I lived in Ca. when open carry was legal. I hunted full time for food and Always had my rifle in the car. If you saw someone packing guns openly they were considered a "cowboy" and I don't mean a range rider. They had a rifle on the saddle at the ranch or maybe in the truck.
Cowboys were a lower life form to the rest of us, range riders included. They had no cows but all the gear.
This is still how I feel about open carry in town. At home I wander where a pistol along can be prudent, snakes don't care and the occasional wildcat doesn't care if it's concealed or not.
w3ski
I think that what you say is mostly true insofar as it goes.
On the other hand, if your town published a letter, however polite, asking pilots to please fly around rather than over the town (or to do so at Vs0), I don't think you, nor I, nor the FAA would be very pleased.
You can't legislate (or politely request) common sense.
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