Brady Campaign attacks Starbucks

I can't stand their coffee, but they do have some pretty sweet travel mugs (even if they might be a bit expensive). Perhaps I'll buy one of those as a way to show my support.

We need more companies like Starbucks.
 
They're still at it.[rolleyes]

Just what part of "f**K you" don't these people understand... [thinking]

Starbucks' Cop-Out to Gun Nuts: Customers Served Coffee While Strapped
Starbucks has become a popular gathering spot for some Second Amendment crusaders, but the company is pretending it doesn't have the power to keep them out.
February 9, 2010 |

So you're at your neighborhood Starbucks, maybe with your kids, and you notice a man sitting at the next table with a revolver strapped to his waist. The man next to him has a pistol. In fact, you realize as you look around, there's a table full of gun-toting customers just a few feet away, sipping coffee and doing nothing to conceal their deadly weapons. Aside from steering clear -- or else getting the hell out of there -- what can an unarmed citizen do?

If you live in California, or a state with similar "open carry" gun laws, the answer is not much. Starbucks, according to numerous media reports, has recently become a popular gathering spot for Second Amendment crusaders, who have generated a lot of local press in California over the last several weeks for going out en mass, their guns conspicuously at their sides, to assert their right to carry firearms in public.

"We're just a bunch of citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights," a large dark-clothed man named Gus Konstantaras told local news station ABC7 at a Starbucks in Antioch, CA last month. Konstantaras argues that, when it comes to Americans' Second Amendment rights, "if you don't use them, you'll probably lose them."

He didn't come up with that all by himself. "A right unexercised is a right lost!" is the slogan of the official Open Carry organization, of which Konstantaras is an East Bay chapter member, and which proudly calls its organizers the "shock troops of the gun lobby."

"Open carry," by definition, means "openly carrying a firearm in public," which is to say overtly rather than covertly. Most states have some sort of open carry laws on the books, with varying degrees of enforcement. At OpenCarry.org, the Internet home of the open carry movement, the group brags that their mission is growing in popularity, with more and more people discovering that carrying firearms in public is "legal and wholesome."

Starbucks denies it has an official policy that embraces firearms. "Starbucks does not have a corporate policy regarding customers and weapons," a Starbucks spokesperson recently told the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, claiming that "we defer to federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding this issue."

But Brady Campaign president Paul Helmke says this is a cop-out. "Here's the problem with that answer," he wrote on the Huffington Post this week: "Generally speaking -- and certainly in California -- businesses have the right to bar guns on their premises. It is their property and, just as they can prohibit entry by people with bare feet, they can do the same for people with guns."

In fact, according to one report out of gun-friendly Wyoming, at least one Starbucks has not allowed customers to hang out with their guns. Outraged pro-gun columnist Anthony Bouchard recounts an incident at a Starbucks in Casper where a patron was asked to remove his gun from the premises. Upon contacting the manager, Bouchard was told, "I own guns but why would anyone want to carry them around women and children?" (Appealing to the local police did the writer no good, prompting him to ask, conspiratorially: "Has the Casper Police become an agent of Starbucks?")

Like the NRA and other members of the gun lobby, open carry activists argue their mission is all about self defense. Brad Huffman, a member of Bay Area Open Carry, told the Contra Costa Times last week that he and his fellow activists "applaud Starbucks for allowing law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and we will continue to patronize them as long as they do."

But others scoff at the notion that filling public places with conspicuous weapons will do anything to keep people safe.

"This myth, that these people are somehow superheroes that are out there ready to take a bullet for you, they're just as likely to put a bullet in you," Brady Campaign coordinator Karen Arntzen told ABC7. Arntzen has called Starbucks "socially irresponsible" for not cracking down on its gun-toting clientele.

Starbucks is not alone among businesses that have found themselves, perhaps unwittingly, at the center of the intractable fight over gun rights in this country. According to the Contra Consta Times, "both Peet's Coffee & Tea and California Pizza Kitchen have banned guns from their premises in response to recent requests from the national Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, while Starbucks refused the campaign's request to do so."

Now, the Brady Campaign is stepping up its targeting of Starbucks. Its homepage blares the message: "Tell Starbucks: 'Keep Guns Out,'" alongside a spin-off of the Starbucks mermaid logo (with the mermaid holding a gun in each hand). It is circling a petition via e-mail appeals, in partnership with Credo Action, with titles like "Tell Starbucks: Offer espresso shots, not gunshots."

"It's everyone's right to be able to sit in a restaurant or coffee shop with their family without intimidation or fear of guns, either concealed or openly carried," writes Lianna Davis, campaign manager for Credo. "Under the law, Starbucks has the right to adopt a gun-free policy, with an exception for uniformed police officers."

Meanwhile, open carry activists are stepping up their own efforts. This past weekend, more than 100 gun-carrying members showed up at a restaurant called the Buckhorn Grill in Walnut Creek, CA. "We're not politically involved," the manager told the Times. "We're a restaurant and we're serving food."

One attendee who brought his wife and baby daughter with him, told the Times, "By carrying a firearm I am creating a deterrent to violence."

But another patron unrelated to the open carry gathering was unconvinced. "I'm a little worried," she said, "I don't feel safe in here. I wouldn't have come if I had known."
Click to expand...

http://www.alternet.org/rights/1456..._nuts:_customers_served_coffee_while_strapped

The link at HufPo is even more nauseating...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/guns-and-starbucks-espres_b_454312.html
 
Well, I just wrote them and let them know I am pleased by their decision to support the law and not give into a special interest organization that is telling the company what to do for their own agenda. Furthermore, I didn't buy their products before, but have now begun to do so. I encourage everyone to take 5 minutes and visit their website in order to support their decision. Brady Bunch folks have already gotten several companies to cave, let's not have this be another.

The link is http://www.starbucks.com/customer/contact.asp and you then click on Starbucks Coffee Company Information.
 
I just wrote a quick note to Starbucks thanking them. The Brady Campaign makes me sick...every member strikes me as being anti-american and anti-constitution on every level. They have no concern for the law...but rather are driven by pure emotions and nothing else
 
bhmax16 said:
I just wrote a quick note to Starbucks thanking them. The Brady Campaign makes me sick...every member strikes me as being anti-american and anti-constitution on every level. They have no concern for the law...but rather are driven by pure emotions and nothing else
Click to expand...

We call them LEMMINGS!!!
 
mikem317 said:
How can you possibly intimidate somebody if you have a concealed firearm?
Click to expand...

The very fact that if the sheeple know that you MAY have a firearm on you while they are enjoying their morning coffee that in itself is enough to intimidate them. What's worse is how is it any different when they leave the coffee shop and they go about the rest of their day? They pass other CCW holders on a daily basis... is that to say they're intimidated then too? Or just in the coffee shop? If they live their life in that much fear then I actually pity them
 
AppleSeeds said:
I don't really drink Coffee but if Starbucks pushes back against this garbage, I might just have to start.
Click to expand...
They make a very nice cup of hot chocolate.

SteveCase said:
Should we open a coffee shop called "Shooters" where concealed and open carry is perfectly fine. And coffee sizes are 9mm for small, .40S&W medium and .45acp for large and 10mm for extra large. the only music played is country/ country rock .
Click to expand...
I'm there.

Monty said:
This idea slightly reminds me of the Starbucks (or whatever coffee shop it was) in Northampton where all the Harley riders would hang out in the evening. It was pretty funny when the city began cracking down on them parking 5 bikes to a spot in front of the shop. They proceeded to park 1 to a spot and occupy every single spot in downtown for the entire night. The city got the message loud and clear.
Click to expand...
happy50.gif
Biker.gif

terraformer said:
I wonder if the cardboard heat thingy would fit around this... http://hero-gear.com/?p=565
Click to expand...
Damn... who needs a gun with that thing? You could beat several muggers to death with it!!
 
drgrant said:
When someone gets stabbed, nobody calls it "knife violence".
Click to expand...

Except, of course, in the UK, where knives have replaced guns as the criminals' weapon of choice and the politicians' preferred way to pretend they care about crime.
 
CMF said:
Except, of course, in the UK, where knives have replaced guns as the criminals' weapon of choice and the politicians' preferred way to pretend they care about crime.
Click to expand...

Knives haven't replaced anything. If you look at the numbers, in the last ten years the same number of people died as in the previous ten years and the ten years before that. Banning guns haven't changed a thing. The knife crime is just a new thing, not a replacement thing.
 
terraformer said:
Knives haven't replaced anything. If you look at the numbers, in the last ten years the same number of people died as in the previous ten years and the ten years before that. Banning guns haven't changed a thing. The knife crime is just a new thing, not a replacement thing.
Click to expand...

Terra, I actually think it's gotten worse. I heard that violent incidents there are counted by INDIVIDUAL, not actual victims. So if you are someone who kills 30 people....it counts as just 1 in their statistics. Now we know violent people re-offend, so that would seriously impact the stats (assuming what I heard is true)
 
Just got this back from Starbucks.

Hello Michael,



Thanks for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.



For Starbucks, the safety of our customers and partners is a paramount concern. We have existing security protocols in place to handle situations related to safety in our stores. We will continue to adhere closely to local, state and federal laws and the counsel of law enforcement regarding this issue.



We appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.



Warm Regards,



Alyssa R.

Customer Relations

Starbucks Coffee Company

800 23-LATTE (235-2883)

Monday through Friday, 5AM to 6PM (PST)
 
Uncle Ogre said:
I got the exact same letter this morning. I just hope the "counsel of law enforcement" they listen to is the cop on the street and not his politicized chief.
Click to expand...

I am sure the Brady's got the same letter. I think they just want this issue to go away and are trying very hard not to make a statement.
 
Starbucks caught in crossfire of dueling gun campaigns
Starbucks finds itself targeted by gun owners exercising their rights, and by gun control advocates.
The Associated Press



Dale Welch recently walked into a Starbucks in Virginia, handgun strapped to his waist, and ordered a banana Frappuccino with a cinnamon bun. He says the firearm drew a double-take from at least one customer, but not a peep from the baristas.



Welch's foray into the coffeehouse was part of an effort by some gun owners to exercise and advertise their rights in states that allow people to openly carry firearms.

Even in some "open carry" states, businesses are allowed to ban guns in their stores. And some have, creating political confrontations with gun owners.

But Starbucks, the largest chain targeted, has refused to take the bait, saying in a statement this month that it follows state and local laws and has its own safety measures in its stores.

"Starbucks is a special target because it's from the hippie West Coast, and a lot of dedicated consumers who pay $4 for coffee have expectations that Starbucks would ban guns. And here they aren't," said John Bruce, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi who is an expert in gun policy.

Welch, a 71-year-old retired property manager who lives in Richmond, Va., doesn't see any reason why he shouldn't bear arms while he gets caffeinated.

"I don't know of anybody who would provide me with defense other than myself, so I routinely as a way of life carry a weapon -- and that extends to my coffee shops," he said.

The fight for retailers heated up in early January when gun enthusiasts in northern California began walking into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. As it spread to other states, gun control groups quickly complained about the parade of firearms in local stores.

Some were spontaneous, with just one or two gun owners walking into a store. Others were organized parades of dozens of gun owners walking into restaurants with their firearms proudly at their sides.

In one case, about 100 activists bearing arms had planned to go to a California Pizza Kitchen in Walnut Creek, Calif., but after it became clear they weren't welcome they went to another restaurant. That chain and Peet's Coffee & Tea are among the businesses that have banned customers with guns.

Just as shops can deny service to barefoot customers, restaurants and stores in some states can declare their premises gun-free zones.

OpenCarry.org, a leading group encouraging the demonstrations, applauded Starbucks in a statement for "deciding not to discriminate against lawful gun carriers."

"Starbucks is seen as a responsible corporation and they're seen as a very progressive corporation, and this policy is very much in keeping with that," said John Pierce, co-founder of OpenCarry.org. "If you're going to support individual rights, you have to support them all. I applaud them, and I've gone out of my way personally to let every manager of every Starbucks I pass know that."

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence responded by circulating a petition that soon attracted 26,000 signatures demanding that Starbucks "offer espresso shots, not gunshots" and declare its coffeehouses "gun-free zones."

Gun control advocates hope the coffeehouse firearms displays end up aggravating more people than they inspire.

"If you want to dress up and go out and make a little political theater by frightening children in the local Starbucks, if that's what you want to spend your energy on, go right ahead," said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady campaign. "But going out and wearing a gun on your belt to show the world you're allowed to is a little juvenile."
 
The rest of the above article...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqiPHeGLQgZF586jcuVwYpdOuwJQD9E5BPRG0

The coffeehouse debate has been particularly poignant for gun-control advocates in Washington state, where four uniformed police officers were shot and killed while working on their laptops at a suburban coffeehouse. The shooter later died in a gun battle with police.

Ralph Fascitelli of Washington Ceasefire, an advocacy group that seeks to reduce gun violence, said allowing guns in coffeehouses robs residents of "societal sanctuaries."

"People go to Starbucks for an escape, just so they can get peace," Fascitelli said. "But people walk in with open-carry guns and it destroys the tranquility."

Gun control advocates have been on the defensive. Their opponents have trumpeted fears that gun rights would erode under a Democrat-led White House and Congress, but President Barack Obama and his top allies have largely been silent on issues such as reviving an assault weapons ban or strengthening background checks at gun shows.

Gun rights groups are looking to build on a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban, and cheered legislation that took effect Monday allowing licensed gun owners to bring firearms into national parks. Obama signed that legislation as part of a broader bill.

Legislators in Montana and Tennessee, meanwhile, have passed measures seeking to exempt guns made and kept in-state from national gun control laws. And state lawmakers elsewhere are considering legislation that would give residents more leeway to carry concealed weapons without permits.

Observers say the gun rights movement is using the Starbucks campaign to add momentum and energize its supporters.

"They're trying to change the culture with this broader notion of gun rights," said Clyde Wilcox, a Georgetown University government professor who has written a book on the politics of gun control. "I think they are pressing the notion that they've got a rout going, so why not just get what they can while they're ahead?"
Click to expand...
 
It's still on... LOL!

Starbucks Gun Debate Arrives In Seattle

Posted: 5:36 am PST March 3,2010Updated: 8:19 am PST March 3,2010
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The National Brady Campaign will deliver an anti-gun petition to Starbucks headquarters Wednesday morning.

The group has been asking Seattle-based Starbucks to ban guns in its stores.

Starbucks has ignored the request, saying it will abide by laws allowing customers to openly carry unloaded weapons.

The Brady Campaign said it chose Starbucks as a target because members of the pro-gun activist group, OpenCarry.org often meet at Starbucks to exercise their right to carry unconcealed guns.

Similar controversy caused Peet's Coffee & Tea to ban firearms in its stores.

OpenCarry.org has postings on its website praising Starbucks and thanking the company for protecting 2nd Amendment rights.

The Brady Campaign says the public petition has 28,000 signatures.

Group members plan to hand out fliers to Starbucks customers Wednesday morning to try and increase the pressure against Starbucks.

They also plan to hold a news conference outside the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday before delivering the petition to company headquarters.
Click to expand...

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22726111/detail.html
 
Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble "Gun Friendly"

Starbucks Corp. and some other chain stores in the U.S. are finding themselves caught in the middle of a firearms debate, as gun-control advocates go up against a burgeoning campaign by gun owners to carry holstered pistols in public places.

The "open carry" movement, in which gun owners carry unconcealed handguns as they go about their everyday business, is loosely organized around the country but has been gaining traction in recent months. Gun-control advocates have been pushing to quash the movement, including by petitioning the Starbucks coffee chain to ban guns on its premises.
Click to expand...

Full article - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...33593489048.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
 
...The only thing worse than a yuppie upset with how their frappuccino turned out is a yuppie with a gun who's unhappy with how their frappuccino turned out," says Erik Forman, a Starbucks barista and union member in Minneapolis.

Isn't that an insult to all Starbucks customers, everywhere? Yuppie? If I patronize a Starbucks I am a "yuppie"?

F them!
 

Similar threads

Fact Check: Brady Campaign Falsely Claims Guns ‘Are Rarely Used Successfully in Self-Defense’
Replies
0
Views
46
Reptile
Reptile
Iran attacks Israel.
Replies
23
Views
1K
240Geezer
2
Subject: (please forward) MCA launches the lawn sign campaigns for Stop H4139 and Process Matters - how to order; how to become a distribution site
Replies
8
Views
470
wma01541
W
Gun Sales Spike Following Maine Shootings and Hamas Attacks on Israel
Replies
1
Views
348
Tartakovsky
Tartakovsky
CT: Chris Murphy Responds to Maine Attacks by Pushing Ban on AR-15s, Similar Rifles
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
Qwikdraw45
Qwikdraw45
Back
Top Bottom