The gun-control debate is now brewing at Starbucks, and locals are chiming in about an open letter the coffee shop chain’s CEO issued last week.
In the letter, published on the Starbucks website, CEO Howard Schultz asked patrons to keep guns out of the cafes.
Lt. Todd Kelly, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said the letter perhaps identifies the problem incorrectly.
“Generally, the people with a carry license are the people who help law enforcement in an emergency because they have the training,” Kelly said. “They should be seen as public allies, not potential criminals.”
In Schultz’s letter, he wrote, “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.”
He said it was not a reaction to the Sept. 16 Washington D.C. Navy Yard shooting.
Schultz later explained the message was necessary after the company’s neutral gun policy was ignored by a series of recent nationwide pro-gun protests inside Starbucks cafes.
“The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers,” he wrote.
Joey Siracusa, a 20-year-old UF computer engineering junior, said the CEO’s statement lacks authority.
“I would guess that anyone who intended to fire their weapon in (my workplace) would do so with or without permission from the CEO,” said Siracusa, who works at Moe’s Southwest Grill on Fletcher Drive.
Tyler Brookins, a 19-year-old UF biology sophomore who works at the Archer Road Panera Bread, said the food industry, particularly coffee shops, doesn’t mix well with gun control.
“I work at a safe place, and people who would make me uncomfortable don’t typically come in,” said Brookins.
Managers at the downtown Starbucks, located at 201 SE First St., declined to comment on the letter specifically but said they hope their customers will view it with respect.
A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/24/2013 under the headline "Gun control debate steeps at Starbucks with CEO’s request"
UF economics senior Kerri Stern, 21, left, talks with Gainesville resident Sophie Ouellette-Howitz, 23, Monday at the downtown Starbucks. Starbucks recently asked customers not to bring firearms into its stores.
