An open letter to Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks

Dear Howard,

This morning, I heard your request to stop coming into your stores armed. You got it. Your patrons and staff never 'were uncomfortable' with me in the stores because they never knew whether I was armed or not.  That's because here in Arizona it's not a big deal.  If you can legally own a weapon, you can carry it, or not, concealed. Occasionally, heck maybe always, I wasn't carrying.  Doesn't and didn't matter because I felt safer at Starbucks because of your past statements welcoming patrons who exercise their Second Amendment rights.

But I need you to know what I will do to ensure I comply with your request. If you don't want me in there armed, I don't want to be in your stores unarmed.  That's because you've just declared Starbucks to be unsafe. Neither me nor my fellow citizens will be able to protect me and my family.  You've just turned every Starbucks into a potential Navy Yard or Sandy Hook.  Part of why I retired from civil service was because I felt like a sitting duck unarmed in my office, knowing that help was about a dozen dead bodies away. I gave up some serious pay in the process.  I won't volunteer to part with what's left of that pay to be a sitting duck again.

Here's what else is a consequence of your request.  As a person of logic and conscience, I will stop buying your product in the grocery store, too. After your past stance on the right to carry, I switched to Starbucks for my home brew. You see, I believe that how I spend my dollars is part of my First Amendment right. So, while you are asking me to relinquish my Second Amendment right to partake of your product, I'll also exercise my First Amendment in the process and pass on Starbucks altogether. 

I realize there are lots of gun shy patrons who don't understand the Bill of Rights. I'm not one of them. I will take you up on your request, but will do so fully. In for a penny, in for a pound. I hope other Second Amendment fans will do as we do, whether they choose to carry or not.

I hope that the message from us will be as clear as your message to us.


UPDATE: Here is the link to the original Schultz letter.  Also, despite the dialogue about 'open carry' please note that the request, which was stated twice, does not single out 'open carry' but states: "requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas"
Note that the underlining is from the letter (second statement of the request), not added by me.