Because if you can’t win in the arena of ideas, win through abuse.
Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners.
For these reasons, today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where “open carry†is permitted—unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.
Howard Schultz – Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer
Certainly, there was plenty of “soapboxing in the lobby”, but the level of confrontation from the anti-civil rights goons absolutely played a factor. Expect to see more of this in the future.
At one point he said, “The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers”, but goes on to say stay out “unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.” So is the presence of a weapon upsetting or not?