DCMP on 
Dana Porter on 
I learned in an email from The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today that Starbucks allows its customers to sit in their stores and openly display firearms.
Over the past few months, more and more gun owners have been gathering at restaurants and coffee shops like Starbucks with guns strapped to their hips, intimidating fellow patrons.
While it is legal to carry a gun into an establishment, it is also legal for that establishment to opt out of letting its customers carry weapons into their business. I know in Columbus, many businesses have signs on the front door stating “No Weapons Allowed.”
If five dudes are sitting in Starbucks packing heat and not wearing badges, I would feel uncomfortable.
You’re not carrying a gun into Starbucks because you feel threatened, you’re showing off.
I have the right to lay a big fat slobbering kiss on my girlfriend in public, I don’t do it because I think it makes me look like an idiot. Just because you have the right to do something, doesn’t mean there aren’t situations where it’s inappropriate.
I’m not against guns and I’m sure this scenario does not apply to most gun owners. But I am for intelligent gun laws and responsible behavior.
But the big question is, why does Starbucks allow this? You can sign a petition here to let Starbucks know you find this policy unacceptable.
Gun owners in California carry openly because we cannot carry concealed, permits are literally impossible in most counties unless your famous or Diane Fienstein. I agree that businesses have the right to not allow weapons in a store but I have the right to not go there, just like starbucks has the right to allow patrons to be armed those who don’t like it don’t have to go there. If that’s to harsh just Drive thru it. Trust me you would want to carry if armed robberies and shootings (by those who are not law abiding citizens) were on the rise in your communities. Police won’t get there in time. I mean isn’t it common sense that with more law abiding citizens carrying guns less crime? its a deterrent. BTW the Brady Campaign started this due to Open Carriers in the Bay Area.
I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but there aren’t any Starbucks in areas with crime where I live. Crime tends to be in the poorer parts of town where people will not pay $3.50 for a cup of coffee. I have not heard one report where a firearm was needed at a Starbucks. So I don’t understand the point of carrying a gun into a Starbucks.
Thanks for commenting.
Concealed carry would certainly help in preventing people from having guns out in plain sight.
Apparently, the gun-displaying patrons must be behaving themselves well. I suppose Starbucks values the business of these patrons.
Starbucks is headquartered in the state of Washington.
Being armed isn’t 100% fool-proof at deterring an attack, as there was an incident in Washington where a retired cop owned a coffee shop (in suburban Lakewood–not an inner city area, by any stretch of the imagination) where police officers would routinely take a coffee break. A gunmen who deliberately targeted the police caught four police officers totally by surprise, as he stepped inside just long enough to squeeze off some shots before he dashed away. He didn’t get off totally scot-free, though. Somebody got a bullet in the culprit before he dashed away. That gunshot wound was a clue to tracking down the culprit. When he was finally caught by police, he still tried armed resistance, but that turned out to be suicidal. Those who assisted with the culprit’s getaway, including those who had treated his wound without informing on him, are now being prosecuted for aiding and abetting.
In two separate incidences in Washington state that also occurred recently, two other police officers lost their lives.
The point of all this? Many people in the state of Washington are freaked out by this. While the state legislature and governor are cracking down on criminals by introducing new legislation that increases penalties, if the police aren’t safe from these criminals, who is? I would not be surprised if firearms sales spiked after this incident. Many people are feeling a bit vulnerable, and now would be the wrong time to ask such people to forego defending themselves just to stop in a Starbucks.
Starbucks, by the way, has lots and lots of competitors in it’s own backyard. Even if all their competitors stopped allowing openly carried firearms inside their premises (which won’t be happening anytime soon), there are plenty of drive-through barrista establishments that would cater to coffee-guzzling customers and they’d probably be unaware whether the customers had firearms with them in the vehicle or not. So, it’s no surprise to me that Starbucks wants to retain these customers rather than forfeit them to the competition.
Really? C’mon little boys, grow up. Leave your toys at home. You’re really not impressing anyone.
OH, no. No, Starbucks don’t do this. I just gave up Diet Coke and I don’t want to have to boycott.
I will now start buying my coffee at Starbucks,
Bravo to Starbucks for standing up for the rights of the law abiding and not folding to political pressure groups with an ax to grind.
I’d rather sit and have coffee in a room full of honest gun owners than a room full of those who do not believe in taking responsibility for their own self defense.
It won’t let me. Guess it forgets that there are Starbucks in Canada.
starbucks has done the right thing to keep their rule the way it is since it says in the second amendment that there is a right to bear arms. But the right to bear arms doesn’t apply to all people, only people that have had a backround check and training. This is the stuff people should keep in mind instead of being afraid they might be shot by LEGAL gun carriers that took a BACKROUND CHECK
How do I know your gun is legal and that you’ve had a background check? All I know is your crazy enough to bring a gun into a coffee shop.
Talk about some cases of hoplophobia. The guys openly carrying aren’t the ones you should be worried about.