Seattle Times: Anti-gun rights lobby fails in effort to get Starbucks to ban guns

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/coffeecity/2011244418_the_brady_campaign_wants_starb.html

Brady Campaign, pro-gun activists disagree at press conference over Starbucks' refusal to ban guns


Posted by Melissa Allison




The Brady Campaign wants Starbucks to ban guns in its stores, and delivered 28,000 signatures to its Seattle headquarters today after a press conference near Pike Place Market.

Before the event, Starbucks issued a release asking not to be put in the middle of the gun controversy.

. . .

Dueling posters carried various slogans, including "Espresso shots not shotguns" and "Gun control kills."

The Brady Campaign asked Starbucks to ban guns after Open Carry advocates appeared at its stores in California to make a point about their right to openly carry guns. Other chains where they met, including Peet's Coffee & Tea and California Pizza Kitchen, have issued notices that guns are not allowed -- either at all or on display -- in their shops unless you're a police officer.

Like many chains including McDonald's, Starbucks complies with local laws.

"The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores," it said in a release. Adopting a ban on openly carrying guns would force its employees, which it calls partners, "to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position."

OpenCarry.org is a Web site started in 2004 that describes itself as "a pro-gun Internet community focused on the right to openly carry properly holstered handguns in daily American life." More than 27,000 members are registered for its online discussion forum.

Co-founder Mike Stollenwerk of Virginia said member meetings take place all over the country -- including in Washington -- but that he is not familiar with how Starbucks was chosen for meetings in California.

In California, Open Carry members frequently protest the fact that they cannot openly carry a loaded gun. They show up at Starbucks and other chains with unloaded guns. In Washington and many other states, loaded guns can be carried openly with a permit.

Stollenwerk is not sure how Open Carry members in California chose Starbucks for their meetings, but said they used to meet at Peet's Coffee. "That's where the Open Carry group started to coagulate, because it's a convenient place to have a coffee and whatever those things they microwave are," he said.

After Peet's told them they were not welcome, they went to Starbucks.. . .

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The only articles I see lately without misinformation dripping from them are Workman's. This one is no different. Interesting story though, wish I could have been there this morning. I am less than happy about OCers yelling things at the protesters.

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In California, Open Carry members frequently protest the fact that they cannot openly carry a loaded gun. They show up at Starbucks and other chains with unloaded guns. In Washington and many other states, loaded guns can be carried openly with a permit.

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Why can they never get this right?

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knight_308 wrote:

In California, Open Carry members frequently protest the fact that they cannot openly carry a loaded gun. They show up at Starbucks and other chains with unloaded guns. In Washington and many other states, loaded guns can be carried openly with a permit.

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Why can they never get this right?

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I emailed the writer about it. We'll see.

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"...It was my first gun story, and I apologize for not realizing that a permit is not required [to open carry]. I fixed it yesterday afternoon. Thanks for writing -- Melissa"

And she actually did fix it. She removed the "with a permit" part.

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"Ralph Fascitelli, president of Washington Ceasefire, which works to reduce gun violence in the state, brought up the November shootings by Maurice Clemmons of four police officers at a coffee shop in Parkland. “If these four highly trained professionals with their guns on them cannot fend off a determined killer, what would cause us to believe that the Open Carry crowd can do better?” he asked the group"

My GOD what a steaming load of crap!

I also noticed a distinct absence of any of "the group's" responses to this question in her article.

So I'll make one.

"Highly trained professionals" is not a phrase I'd use to describe any police officer I've ever met. I've never met any police officer that even came remotely close to being as proficient, aware, or competent with their firearms as the average Joe Blow gun owner. This is not meant as an insult to Police Officers. There is much more to the job than the gun. But one would think they should take it more seriously than they do. Those 4 would still be alive if they were not in 'condition white.' What 'highly trained professional' could be so horribly oblivious? It has not happened EVER, not even ONCE to an Open Carrying Citizen. That is an absolute FACT and I challenge you to find any evidence to the contrary.

When I see cops at my local shooting range, I leave. They don't obey any safety rules, every accident ever caused at that range was caused by cops. And their marksman ship, holy crap. They couldn't hit the broad side of an entire flock of low flying barns! Do note that this extremely low degree of proficiency is considered sufficient for their annual 'qualification.' For the same range that I can put 10 rounds in an inch, they can't even hit the paper. I don't know anyone who ISN'T several orders of magnitude safer and more competent than every single police officer I have ever seen shoot.

The "highly trained professional" argument is one of the most perverted lies there is.