When people talk about gun control, often they talk about Starbucks and its policy about guns being okay inside the stores. There are many protests at Starbucks and events when people bring guns to Starbucks (Strom). The Starbucks CEO who is Howard Schultz decided that he does not want people to talk about Starbucks when people talk about gun control (Barrett). Starbucks does not ban guns but it makes a request so people do not bring guns to the Starbucks store (Malter). Starbucks chose a safe ground where maybe it will not be affected by politics but also it might make a trend about not exactly banning guns inside stores.
Starbucks did not want to be a piece of the political argument about carrying guns. Most chain stores and restaurants do not have rules about carrying guns (Strom). This mean that they allow what the state allows. 44 states allow open carry and this means that most chain stores and restaurants allow open carry in 44 states (Strom). Starbucks was chosen to represent gun freedom but Starbucks does not have special gun freedom. The CEO of Starbucks who is Howard Schultz talks about all of the protests for carrying guns and against carrying guns, and says, “To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores” (Barrett). Because Starbucks does not want to be a piece of the political argument about gun control, Starbucks made a policy which is meant to be neutral about gun control.
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"Starbucks Requesting No Guns in Stores".
Because it does not ban guns, the policy by Starbucks might end some protests at Starbucks or might make more happen. Starbucks is always talked about when gun control is talked about, and this means the decision that Starbucks made will just change the way that protesters compare Starbucks to their beliefs. There maybe won’t be more protests at Starbucks, but maybe the change that Starbucks made will encourage more protests at Starbucks. Starbucks can change how it is talked about but it cannot change being talked about.
The idea that Starbucks had might make other companies have the same idea. Most chain restaurants and stores do not have rules about guns, but because Starbucks has rules about guns now, people who want gun freedom will look for other companies that allow open carry and use these companies for protests. Other companies might not want to ban guns because people who want gun freedom will say it is not safe to have no gun. People might decide not to shop at these companies because they allow guns or because they ban guns. These companies might agree with Starbucks and choose to be neutral about gun freedom. If many companies start to sort of have rules about guns, then a new place will be created between allowing guns and banning guns, and maybe people will not boycott these companies. Without the new place, people would boycott some stores and not boycott other stores. Because boycotting can make profits become smaller, many stores might decide to become neutral like Starbucks became neutral.
If many stores request no guns, people who want to carry guns might buy small guns which they can hide in bags. Because people do not stop doing things just because things are illegal, Starbucks might be making a market for small guns and big purses. The rules that a stores make might be making markets bigger in breaking rules.
Howard Schultz who is the CEO of Starbucks is wanting to make a trend where companies make right decisions even when right decisions don’t make money. He did an interview talking to CNN Money and said “We’re living in the midst of seismic changes in terms of the role and responsibility of for-profit and public companies” (Malter). Howard Schultz thinks that the government is not leading strongly and because of this companies need to lead and make decisions to help people (Malter). The government lets people bring weapons into stores, and Howard Schultz says that weapons in stores scare customers and he does not want this to happen (Malter). He wants everyone to feel like they are safe and he knows that someone will become upset if he allows guns or bans guns and this is the reason that he requests for no guns inside Starbucks but does not ban guns (Malter). Howard Schultz wants companies to make decisions which help people and he knows that these decisions do not always earn money (Malter). Other companies might become inspired by this decision and then they might decide to become a little selfless. Because many business profits are made by little pay and dangerous working places, a trend to become more selfless would make big changes in how companies manage themselves. Profits would probably become smaller, but some companies might want to do the right thing because it is the right thing.
Since 2010, Starbucks has been talked about when people talk about gun control. People who want gun freedom have made “Starbucks Appreciation Day” and done events at Starbucks (Barrett). People who want gun control have made “Skip Starbucks Sunday” and done protests on the outside of Starbucks (Strom). The political argument has made people who go to Starbucks uncomfortable. Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks and does not want Starbucks to be a piece of the political argument about gun control. He also likes customers feeling safe and also customers having rights. The feeling safe of customers is needed for customers to go to a store and not boycott, and this is one of the reasons for why Howard Schultz made the decision of making a request and not a ban for people to not bring guns inside Starbucks. Many things might happen now. Protesters might protest and boycott even more because they made a change happen, or they might find a new store for protesting. People might buy and hide small guns instead and make the market of small guns grow. Companies might decide to do things like Starbucks does things and become more selfless. Guessing what change will happen is difficult but one kind of change will definitely happen because the company that everyone is talking about when they talk about gun control finally made a decision.
- Barrett, Paul. (2013, Spetember 18). Starbucks to Customers: Please Leave Your Guns at Home. Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-18/starbucks-to-customers-please-leave-your-guns-at-home#r=most popular
- Malter, Jordan. (2013, September 18). Schultz: Please, No Guns in Starbucks. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/09/18/n-starbucks-guns-howard-schultz-interview.cnnmoney/index.html?iid=SF_BN_River
- Strom, Stephanie. (2013, September 18). Starbucks Seeks to Keep Guns Out of Its Coffee Shops. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/business/starbucks-seeks-to-keep-guns-out-of-its-cofee-shops.html?_r=0
