国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

Global General

Starbucks asks not to be center of gun debate

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-04 02:08
Large Medium Small

SEATTLE – Coffee chain Starbucks Corp. is sticking to its policy of letting customers carry guns where it's legal and said it does not want to be put in the middle of a larger gun-control debate.

Starbucks asks not to be center of gun debate
This screen shot taken from bradycampaign.org shows the online petition page that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has circulated to urge supporters to demand that Starbucks declare its coffeehouses 'gun-free zones.' [Agencies]?

The company's statement, issued Wednesday, stems from recent campaign by some gun owners, who have walked into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. Gun control advocates have protested.

The fight began heating up in January in Northern California and has since spread to other states and other companies, bolstered by the pro-gun group OpenCarry.org.

Some of the events were spontaneous, with just one or two gun owners walking into a store. Others were organized parades of dozens of gun owners walking into restaurants with their firearms proudly at their sides.

Now, gun control advocates are protesting the policy. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, launched a petition drive demanding that the company "offer espresso shots, not gunshots" and declare its coffeehouses "gun-free zones." And Wednesday, that group planned a press conference near Seattle's Pike Place Market, where the first Starbucks cafe opened.

Businesses can choose to ban guns from their premises. And Starbucks said Wednesday that it complies with local laws in the 43 states that have open-carry weapon laws.

"Were we to adopt a policy different from local laws allowing open carry, we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position," the company said in its statement.

It said security measures are in place for any "threatening situation" that might occur in stores.

Starbucks asked both gun enthusiasts and gun-control advocates "to refrain from putting Starbucks or our partners into the middle of this divisive issue."

Starbucks shares rose a penny to $23.34 in midday trading Wednesday.

津市市| 祁阳县| 宁波市| 盖州市| 康保县| 梧州市| 桦川县| 金川县| 固镇县| 富民县| 延吉市| 汉源县| 呼伦贝尔市| 泰来县| 墨竹工卡县| 永安市| 西畴县| 鄂托克前旗| 万宁市| 喀喇沁旗| 蒙山县| 吉木乃县| 平和县| 邵东县| 仲巴县| 香港| 阿尔山市| 仁寿县| 孟村| 龙江县| 武陟县| 余庆县| 秦安县| 时尚| 新绛县| 繁昌县| 武宁县| 南昌市| 东乡县| 新泰市| 平度市|