Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter to customers earlier this week requesting gun owners not bring their firearms when they pick up their morning latte.
This does not affect our campus Starbucks, as Florida statutes explicitly prohibit concealed weapon permit holders from carrying their gun on campus in addition to a short list of other locations, such as courthouses and grade schools.
However, many college students enjoy practicing their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms off-campus, and many have taken the extra steps to become licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
These individuals undergo firearms training, a marksmanship evaluation, fingerprinting and a national background check.
There are even groups for gun-toting students, such as Students for Concealed Carry, which currently has more than 29,000 likes on Facebook.
The numbers of concealed-carry permit holders in Florida are even more impressive — according to an August 2013 report by the Florida Department of Agriculture, there are nearly 1,340,000 active permits in the state.
Many of those permit holders enjoy chugging their daily cup of joe, and odds are that you’ve probably been next to them in line at some point.
In the past, Starbucks held a neutral position on firearms by stating that all customers were welcome as long as the applicable law was observed.
A few “Starbucks Appreciation Day” events were organized with groups of firearm enthusiasts buying coffee to show their support of the company’s policies — policies that merely reflect the law, as expected.
Recently, however, Starbucks decided these appreciation events had gone too far by making some customers feel uncomfortable.
Schultz stated, “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.”
Schultz is asking law-abiding, licensed concealed carry permit holders to leave their rights at the door.
To establish a bit of perspective on his request, imagine you walk into your local grocery store wearing a symbol that reflects one of your basic rights as provided in the Constitution.
Perhaps you wear a burka, a cross or a rainbow-colored shirt.
These symbols are outward reflections of our basic rights of freedom to practice a religion, equality and free speech to display our opinions for others to see and discuss.
Then imagine the store manager asks you to leave the item that so beautifully expresses your deep appreciation of your right simply because it might offend another customer.
It might make someone who is unfamiliar with that right feel uncomfortable.
The idea seems ridiculous, and rightfully so, because those rights are expressly given to all Americans by the Constitution, and no one should ask us to abandon them.
Included among those basic rights is the right to keep and bear arms, and Starbucks has made it clear it would prefer you abandon that right when you enter its stores.
However, anyone can bring a firearm into a public place without others being aware, and only conscientious firearm owners will stop to ponder Starbucks’ request.
Would you rather be standing in line next to someone who has lawfully been registered with the state — or some off-the-street thug who doesn’t care about obeying the law?
No matter their position on firearm control, students should be cognizant that complacency with Starbucks’ new policy will set a dangerous precedent for individual liberties.
While gun owners’ rights are being trampled today, another group may be asked to refrain from its rights tomorrow.
I firmly believe no one should be asked to leave his or her rights at the door, no matter how deliciously caffeinated the coffee may be.
As for me, I am quite confident in my decision to take my business elsewhere and can not continue to support a company that has put discriminatory politics above my freedom and liberty.
Margaret Beck is a UF first-year law student. This guest column ran on page 7 on 9/23/2013 under the headline "Starbucks serving it cold, asking customers to leave guns at home"
