Starbucks lauded for best business practice on customer gun carry

[shadowrider]

Starbucks, like all companies serving the American public, realizes that it's legal in every state except Illinois for citizens to carry handguns in public for self-defense.

--snip--

It turns out that few American retail establishments ban customer gun carry. According to the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks is in good company with other so-called "open carry friendly" companies such as "Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Home Depot Inc., Best Buy Co., and Barnes & Noble Inc." Says Best Buy spokeswoman Sue Busch Nehring

http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m3d6-Starbucks-lauded-for-best-business-practice-on-customer-gun-carry

I stopped in Starbucks this morning, sans weapon, for a cup of regular coffee just to show my appreciation.

[AnOhioan]

1. Yeah..I guess best business pratices also include

serving overpriced drinks and appropriating the money that ends up in the tip jar.

[Euromutt]

26. The corporation does "appropriate" the money from the tip jar

You appear to be falsely suggesting that the corporation takes and keep the tip money. The various lawsuits that have taken place over Starbucks' tip money policy have been over how the tip money gets distributed among the employees, e.g. whether shift supervisors should get a share of the tips, or whether tips earned by employees working on one shift should be shared with employees working other shifts.

And when you call the drinks "overpriced," consider this: Starbucks pays coffee growers (i.e. the guys in Ethiopia, Guatemala, etc.) an average of 23% over market price. The corporation also spends more on health insurance for its employees than it spends on coffee.

Howard Schultz's dad was a truck driver who lost his job and was almost ruined because he broke his ankle and had no health coverage. As a result, Schultz has been insistent on providing a comprehensive health insurance package for all employees. That's part of what you're paying for when you buy a latte there.

[Callisto32]

34. They provide drinks at a price the market will bear.

If their prices were too high, they would go out of business. They serve drinks that are out of many people's price range, sure, but that does not mean it is overpriced. The price the market will bear is a much better indicator of the true value of a service than a price set by mere fiat.

[SteveM]

39. I go to a locally-owned coffee house, friendly to everyone but F-ups.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PavePusher]

9. Need canard and Pecker canard, in the second post.

SoCalNative for the Fail-Win!

Sorry, no prize money for the silly.

[SteveM]

40. You say he needs a pecker? nt

[PavePusher]

46. You, sir, owe me a monitor wipe-down... or something... n/t

[DrDan]

3. WalMart? Home Depot? You can carry a weapon into WalMart and Home Depot?

[shadowrider]

4. Yes

[ZombieHorde]

5. Since Wal-Mart sells firearms, not being allowed to carry one through the store would be weird. nt

[onehandle]

7. Yes. America is sliding backwards in many ways. nt

[DrDan]

11. you are right about that . . .

the direction of the U.S. in the past 2 decades (well, since Newt) has been anything but forward

[hack89]

18. Except when it comes to violent crime

which is steadily going down. That is a good thing, isn't it?

[proteus_lives]

36. Forward.

Slowly moving forward.

There, I fixed your typo.

[PavePusher]

10. What the problem is? n/t

[X_Digger]

15. *gasp* And Best Buy, and Chili's, and Barnes and Noble, and..

Pizza Hut, Lowe's, Marble Slab, Central Market, Radio Shack..

[X_Digger]

20. And Saltgrass, and Macaron Grill, and Office Max, and..

.. well, you get the picture. There are actually more places you can carry than those you can't.

[GreenStormCloud]

17. Everytime I go there, yes, I am armed.

In fact, I am armed when I go anywhere, as long as it is legal. Why should WM & HD be an exception?

[hlthe2b]

25. I assume that banks are off limits.... Are gun owners up in arms

(pardon the pun) at banks not allowing them to bring their open or concealed carry weapons in?

[X_Digger]

27. Bad assumption..

None of the banks I've used are posted as no concealed carry.

Most states don't limit concealed carry in banks (statutorily), that I can tell. Obviously, individual banks may choose to disallow concealed carry there.

[Endangered Specie]

54. Bank carry in NC is illegal

[X_Digger]

55. Lol, I figured there had to be at least ONE out there.

I have a great little app for my ipod that covers concealed carry laws in all 50 states, I thumbed through 15-20 of them and didn't see anything.

[Endangered Specie]

56. Yeah, NC might as well not have CCW...

No carry allowed in (besides the usual suspects):
- any places that serves alcohol (regardless if you drink or not)
- financial institutions
- any place that charges for admission
- events occuring in public (parades, demonstrations, etc...)
- areas of emergencies (I think that means 'state of emergency;)
- state parks and forests

We also have a "going armed to the terror of the people." which effectively eliminates open carry.

[Euromutt]

28. Not in this state (WA)

None of the banks and credit unions I frequent have signs up prohibiting firearms.

[oneshooter]

31. In Texas they have to put up a 30.06 sign.

Some have put up copies of the sign, photocopies off of the net. They do not meet the legal requirements as described in the law. Therefore they are not legal, they carry no force of law.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[AtheistCrusader]

45. 30.06 huh? Some irony here, but I can't put my finger on it

[spin]

33. Some banks post "no gun" signs ...

I avoid them.

[Statistical]

35. You would be wrong.

In VA at least banks are like any other private property.

Banks CAN prohibit firearms on their private property but so can a shoe store, or tax agency.

[GreenStormCloud]

38. Mine doesn't. prohibit guns. It does prohibit hoodies. The face must be clearly visible.

I am always armed when I go to my bank. When I used the ATM, (Once every two weeks, at about 10:30PM, to deposit a check.) I have one hand inside my pocket holding the gun. I touch the screen, look around, touch for the next operation, look around, etc until finished. Then everything gets put into a different pocket to sort out later.

[spin]

32. Sure, I do all the time ...

I live in Florida and have a concealed weapons permit, so I carry concealed and no one knows.

I don't want to leave my firearm in my vehicle and have some fool steal it. Plus, while Wal-mart and Home Depot may be fairly safe, the parking lot might not be.

[DebbieCDC]

6. This just pushed me over the edge with Starbucks

I'll go to local coffee shops from now on for my morning fix and buy their beans for home use.

[benEzra]

22. Wow, the repubs at the Brady Campaign say "be afwaid!!" and you stop patronizing Starbucks?

This is a PR campaign by the gun-ban lobby. Starbucks hasn't changed their position; they're merely doing what practically all stores, restaurants, and other establishments that serve the public do. This is only in the news at all because the Brady Campaign is trying to make themselves look relevant.

[Katya Mullethov]

24. You sure

It wasnt Barney Frank that said that ?

[SteveM]

41. Do you understand the issues involved here?...

Starbucks and many stores (whether through their statements or by statements at all) are following the standard operating procedures they have always followed: conform to the law. In fact, if Starbucks -- or any retail outlet -- wishes to change their respective policies, they would have to issue statements, posts signs, etc. to (presumably) "ban" guns. But even here, this would not have the force of law unless a patron (who was somehow detected with a firearm in contravention of business policy) refused to leave. But that would be trespass. Same as it ever was.

Have you considered what these businesses may be considering? That a prominently posted "gun-free zone" sign may be just the enticement for some spittle-flying nut case or stick-up punk looking for easy juice? And that the best policy for these businesses is to just keep following the law; at a minimum, it may keep the crims and thugs guessing?

It seems what upsets you is the lack of moral sentiment, as revealed by a sign, for a meaningless (and even counter-productive) prohibition policy. Personally, I think the Brady Center, having failed categorically in their political objectives, has chosen Starbucks to fight some kind of nasty culture war issue around guns, hoping to garner "politically sympathetic" Starbucks patrons to lead some sort of ground-swell against guns. It won't work; those who would boycott Starbucks because they choose to follow the law and their PAST business practices have most likely already chosen to boycott Starbucks for other reasons.

[SimonPhoenix]

51. Ya Debbie

But what will you drink with your granola in the morning? Venti iced mocha goes quite well with it-better than almost anything else.

[frazzled]

8. Oh good, well, I'll never stop in at Starbucks again.

No sense in risking my life for a bad cup of coffee.

[DrDan]

12. kinda feel the same way about WalMart . . . not sure I want to support this union-buster any more

[SteveM]

42. Same for me. And I buy my guns & ammo elsewhere, too. nt

[shadowrider]

13. I agree

There are ten's of articles in the paper today detailing mass shootings at several Starbucks in Atlanta. Do I need a sarcasm icon?

[oneshooter]

14. But you were going and drinking"bad coffee" before? n/t

[frazzled]

23. Sometimes ...

I don't spend a lot of money drinking coffee out--but there's a Starbucks a block from my house, so yeah, I stopped there on occasion (mostly for an iced coffee in summer). Just last month, we got a Lavazza (Italian) coffee shop--with gelato and much better coffee and pastries--a block and a half in the other direction. The coffee's better and they don't seem to be bragging about letting people with guns in, so I'll be going there when I need a jolt of java.

[paulsby]

30. they aren't bragging, and they didn't start this

they were 'REQUESTED' to ban guns, and said no thanks, we'll allow people to carry guns as is consistent with the laws of the states we operate in.

[SteveM]

43. Did you hear of a Starbucks franchise "bragging about letting people with guns in?"

[GreenStormCloud]

19. Does the place that you regularly go to have a "No Guns" sign?

If not, you are just as likely to be in company of armed citizens there.

What makes you think that a legally armed citizen is a danger to you? The danger comes from illegally armed thugs.

[paulsby]

29. evidence please...

please provide any evidence that stores that allow carry are less safe than stores that don't

[proteus_lives]

37. I'm sorry that you allow your fears to control you.

[armueller2001]

44. Better not step inside a

Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, or any of the other thousands of places that allow lawful carry of firearms.

[Euromutt]

53. Not to mention almost the entirety...

... of every state except Illinois and Hawaii.

[MineralMan]

16. Starbucks? I practice open carry...

I carry a thermos of good coffee from home and save my money. Now that's open carry that'll perk you up halfway through the morning.

[X_Digger]

21. (and at 1/10th the price, too.) n/t

[Glassunion]

47. The Starbuck’s debacle and other places that should be boycotted…

I live in PA and was looking at the state laws as to where individuals can carry firearms, either openly or concealed. I started to make a list of retail establishments that allow their customers to bring firearms into their establishments. But I ran into one problem. Almost all retail establishments allow firearms on their premises. Some might say they are just allowing the general public into their establishments, but they are obviously and most willingly putting all of their customers in jeopardy. They do not care about the welfare of our children. They do not care about the welfare of our communities. They are just after the all mighty dollar. Right? :sarcasm:

I instead made a list of “safe” places that one can go to when visiting PA. So if you live here, or are just visiting, I have made a list of places one can go to, to “feel” safe.
1. Courthouses
2. K-12 schools, either private or public
3. Military installations (except for those that allow hunting)
4. Federal Government Buildings
5. The secure area of any airport, this does not include the ticket counter area, or anywhere inside of the airport before the security screening area
6. Detention facilities
7. Correctional institutions
8. Mental hospitals
9. Any private property where a landowner, tenant or person so authorized to maintain property has asked you to leave because you are carrying, or where the property owner or tenant has placed signs or placards denoting that guns are forbidden. (the only problem is that I have lived here for years and have only seen one sign at the following place.)
10. Cabela’s
So as long as you stay within those “safe” places, your visit to PA will be gun free. With the exception of number 10. You cannot carry in there, however they do sell them, so there will be guns inside the store. Lots of them.

So if you were thinking that you could visit a Red Lobster, K-Mart, 5 Guys Burgers (THE F’ING BEST BURGER EVER!), shopping mall, gas stations, Chuck E Cheese, State Parks, National Parks, Public Parks, Police Stations, banks, etc… you need to be extra careful. There may be someone with a gun. In fact, I saw someone with a gun just yesterday at the car wash. Besides myself, there were TWO people with guns! In the same place! There were children there! In fact this guy had 3 kids with him! Guns! We are all so very lucky there was not a shootout between the two of us! :sarcasm:

What are we to do? Perhaps we should just realize that there are those who are exercising a fundamental right, guaranteed in some states as inherent, inalienable rights. I think we just simply need to conclude that there will be those who will exercise their rights, even if you don’t agree with them. I would suggest that if you disagree with those rights, have them repealed if you despise them so. Good luck with that.

[rrneck]

48. I wouldn't go into

a Chuck E Cheese with an M16.

[Glassunion]

49. Well... That's where you and I differ.

I would not go into one without one.

[friendly_iconoclast]

50. I would compromise and stick to just body armor. Those little fuckers are vicious

And the kids are pretty nasty, too...

[rrneck]

52. I stand corrected.

:rofl: