Open-Carry Advocates Carry Protest—and Guns—to Starbucks
Gun owners who oppose restrictions on concealed weapons have been showing up at Starbucks in California carrying holstered handguns.
In California, it’s legal to carry an unloaded gun without a license in most places, the Wall Street Journal reports. Gun advocates are protesting limits on permits to carry a concealed weapon with their Starbucks gun displays.
According to the story, 29 states allow gun owners to openly carry their loaded weapons without getting a permit. Thirteen states require owners to get a carry permit before sporting an unconcealed, loaded handgun, the article says, citing statistics on opencarry.org.
The laws differ for concealed weapons. Two states allow owners to carry concealed weapons without obtaining a permit. Thirty-eight have a “shall issue” permit process, and eight have a “may issue” process that makes permits discretionary.
Even in states where weapons may be carried in public, stores can set their own policies, the story says. Starbucks says the issue is for the legislatures and the courts, but adds that its baristas could be harmed if their stores ban guns, the story says. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has helped gather 28,000 petition signatures asking the company to ban guns on its premises.
At least one barista, Erik Forman, a Minneapolis union member, isn’t happy with Starbucks’ decision to allow guns in its stores where state law allows it. “I think the policy shows complete disregard for the safety and sentiments of their workers,” Forman told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”
