Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Launches Campaign Pressuring Starbucks To Ban Guns From Its Stores

INDIANAPOLIS, July 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America announced today that it is launching a campaign to demand that Starbucks ban guns from its stores nationwide. The company currently allows patrons to bring loaded firearms into their stores in states where public carrying is permitted. 

Moms Demand Action is asking its members to demand that Starbucks change its policy on firearms through a petition that will be hand-delivered to Starbucks; reaching out to CEO Howard Schultz through emails and Tweets; writing letters to the editor of local papers to educate moms in their communities about Starbucks' gun policies; and pressuring the company through social media (tinyurl.com/coffeewithgunsense).  

"Many moms are unaware that if they take their children to a Starbucks, their children may be standing next to a customer who has a loaded weapon," said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. "Starbucks needs to understand that they must take the safety of our children and families as seriously as mothers do."

Starbucks' stance on guns in its stores is at odds with its own corporate policies. For example, Starbucks recently enacted a ban on smoking within 25 feet of its stores in areas where smoking would be otherwise legal. The company also bans firearms from its corporate headquarters and prohibits employees from carrying guns – even in states where laws would allow them to do so. Like any private business, Starbucks has the legal right to prohibit firearms in its stores in the interest of its customers' safety, but has chosen not to do so, despite the shootings that have taken place inside its stores due to careless handling of loaded weapons.

"Moms and women oversee nearly 80 percent of household spending, and Moms Demand Action is going to make sure they spend those dollars at businesses and institutions that respect and support the safety of our children and families," said Watts.

Recently, anti-gun reform organizations across the country have begun using Starbucks as a common meeting destination prior to protests because they are able to bring their weapons inside. In addition, there is an annual "Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day." Starbucks and its management have not publicly denounced these activities.

The Starbucks campaign is part of Moms Demand Action's wider corporate responsibility initiative.  The grassroots movement is urging American moms to support companies and businesses that: Don't allow guns in their establishments, regardless of what state laws permit; don't sell assault weapons; don't sponsor or partner with gun lobby organizations; and don't support or fund legislative efforts to loosen federal or state gun laws.

About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving was created to change laws regarding drunk driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (www.momsdemandaction.org or @momsdemand) was created to build support for common-sense gun reforms. The nonpartisan grassroots movement of American mothers is demanding new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. In nearly 7 months the organization has garnered more than 100,000 members with nearly 100 local chapters in 40 states across the country.

SOURCE Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America