Dive Summary:
- After a summer where Starbucks played an “unwitting role” in the concealed carry debate by allowing gun enthusiasts to hold armed rallies at stores located in some U.S. states, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has publicly asked gun advocates to leave their weapons at home.
- Schultz penned an open letter to the public on Tuesday to make a “respectful request” that firearms not be carried into Starbucks stores, even going so far to say that gun rallies were unwelcome at Starbucks stores.
- “Because Starbucks is a business icon, this policy change represents a sea change in American culture, which is finally shifting away from allowing guns in public places,” said Shannon Watts, who founded the grassroots group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
From the article:
Schultz noted that gun control advocates “have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners.” One such confrontation took place on “Starbucks Appreciation Day” in Newtown, Conn., site of the Sandy Hook school massacre. The Newtown Starbucks closed early on that Friday “out of respect”, but not before clashes between gun enthusiasts, patrons and protesters.
