As a gun owner will you continue to buy at Starbucks?

@Mackin, you've bought into the lies about Starbucks not supporting our veterans. Shows your level of intellect.

I, for one, will continue to support Starbucks. There's more than just guns in this world; Starbucks supports fair trade and many other good causes, INCLUDING SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS (Mackin, do the research) and helping create jobs. I don't agree with every single thing they do, necessarily, but the company itself has had a very tolerant attitude toward gun owners over the last few years, and even now they are simply stating that open carry makes people nervous so they'd prefer if you didn't do it in their stores.

So, to recap this letter:

1) Starbucks is a private corporation that can regulate certain things in their places of business, including carriage of firearms.

2) Starbucks PREFERS that customers do not open carry in their places of business, because;

3) Open carry is a contentious point right now and firearms make some people who may be their customers nervous.

4) The open letter (which a CWP instructor friend of mine forwarded to me earlier today) was very politely worded and gave valid reasons, even if I don't agree.

So yes, I will continue to drink Starbucks coffee.

If I have a better local alternative, I choose it over Starbucks, anyway.

They haven't taken an anti-gun stance. They have had a few accidental discharges in their shops, and open carry does make people nervous.

Locally, I'm legal to carry either open or concealed, but I rarely carry either way. And if I'm in a Starbucks, it's generally only a few yards to my car, which is both an escape and (if it comes to that) a good place to keep a handgun without anybody being nervous.

1) After Seattle's Best, Starbucks has the absolute nastiest coffee I have ever tasted. I do not go to Starbucks unless I am meeting someone there.

2) We are a local option open carry state, meaning local towns may outlaw open carry. it is such a pain, I just got the CHP.

3) Starbucks says it is not a ban, merely a request. So if I have to meet someone there, my concealed handgun comes in with me.

Starbucks is a law-abiding business that serves coffee to anyone who is also law abiding. All along and still they have openly stated that in the store they will abide by federal and state laws and welcome anyone who also abides by local and state laws.

You are making the mistake of trusting liberal media, rather than actually referencing the Starbucks letter, that I don't think they have published yet. If you read the WSJ headline, it is inaccurate and misleading. Starbucks is NOT categorically declaring guns unwelcome. It is asking people not to abuse the welcome of their establishment by using it as a platform to push their political agenda rather than buying and drinking coffee. So they are ASKING not BANNING guns.

The problem is the grandstanding that open carry participants do in drawing attention to themselves anytime anyone questions their right to carry openly. Starbucks obviously is tired of that publicity and it is effecting their bottom line already. To whit is the point, In most states where open carry is the norm there has been no negative response as people carry every where and no one cares. In states where the laws allow but the politics is shifting battle lines have been drawn unfortunately on private property and these folks suffer the consequences. This negative attention only fuels the fire of the anitgunners and in no way helps open carry. Show respect to property owners and they will generally stay out of the debate but hurt their bottom line and the door will close. So if you want to demonstrate open carry do it on the capitol steps and be willing to fight in court anything else is a cowardly act.

I'd rather not, but for most of LA starbucks is the only option for coffee. I can't find a Seattle's Best of a Coffee Bean anywhere for miles in places like Nowalk or Long Beach!

i refuse to drink gas station coffee. it's disgusting, like black colored water!

so because starbucks has a monopoly and is everywhere more than any other brand, even though their coffee sucks i still end up going there. (it still better than the watery crap gas stations sell)

notice i didn't bring up the gun issue.

business have the right to prohibit firearms in their shops. nothing wrong it that.

1. No they did NOT declare gun owners unwelcome. They like ANY business can have a policy where they choose not to have armed citizens on their property, just like I as a gun owner can decide

NO ONE else but myself is allowed to be armed (police excluded) on MY PROPERTY. That doesn't make my gun owning friends unwelcome now does it.

2. I've never been a fan of Starbucks but my wife is (she's a gun owner as well) and I know she'll continue to purchase her over priced Yuppy Scum coffee's there.

3. I never said that YOU said they did either.

For all the attempts to spin this, Starbucks has essentially said, "Look, we don't want to be involved in the gun control struggle. We just want to sell coffee."

To that end, they've asked gun owners not to bring in guns, but they haven't banned them. They just want activists to go elsewhere.

I'm a huge pro-gunner, but I can respect Starbucks for this. They won't lose my business.

I don't drink their coffee anyways. However, if they would rather not have people open carrying guns in their stores, that's fine. I am pro gun, but if I owned a toy store i'd rather not have people open carrying guns in my store. I'm personally not a fan of open carry. I do believe in concealed carry though. Did you actually read what they said? I don't see a problem with it. Would you be comfortable if you were at Disneyland with your kids and people were running around packing guns on their hips?

I rarely go to Starbucks anyway, but this policy will not change what I do. People who insist on sitting around in a coffee shop with their gun, just because they can, are idiots. I prefer not to be around idiots with guns.

Good post, August.