Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has respectfully asked patrons to stop bringing guns into his company’s stores — but it’s not an outright ban.
In an open letter released on Tuesday, Schultz attempted to defuse the gun-related controversy that has swirled around his company in recent months. He essentially pleaded with those on both sides of the issue to leave his company alone and stressed that Starbucks was “thrust unwillingly” into the national gun debate.
“That’s why I am writing today with a respectful request that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas,” Schultz wrote.
Earlier this month, influential Connecticut Democrats, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, sent a letter to Schultz, asking the CEO to ban guns in Starbucks stores nationwide. But in his letter, Schultz criticized anti-gun activists for “ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction” and confronting Starbucks patrons and employees.
He also condemned gun rights advocates for using Starbucks stores as a “political stage for media events” and implying that the company supports open carry.
“To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores,” Schultz wrote.
Back in August, gun supporters planned to show up to the Starbucks in Newtown, Conn. — the town in which the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place — to demonstrate appreciation for the coffee retailer not banning guns in its stores. Starbucks has, in the past, followed state laws regarding open carry, not wanting to make gun-toting patrons leave the coffee shops or disarm. Before the event took place, however, the store shut its doors for the day, angering Second Amendment supporters.
Schultz pointed out in his letter that his vision for Starbucks was to create a place where customers could enjoy the “peace and pleasure of coffee and community” — instead of being caught up in divisiveness.
Yet Schultz didn’t outright ban guns, refusing to put his employees in the position of asking armed patrons to leave the store. He simply asked for gun rights advocates to respect other customers who might be nervous around guns and not open carry in Starbucks stores.
“Whatever your view, I encourage you to be responsible and respectful of each other as citizens and neighbors,” he closed.
