As proponents of carrying unconcealed handguns in public are fighting for the right across the nation, Starbucks and other chain stores have found themselves caught in the middle of the firestorm, according to media reports.
Recently gun-control advocates have petitioned the Starbucks coffee chain—whose policy is to comply with state open carry weapons laws, although it has the final say on its property—to ban guns on its premises, Fox News reported.
In the last few days pickets have been held across the country, including in Seattle where the company is headquartered, but Starbucks has reiterated its commitment to the policy, saying that banning guns at its stores might put baristas, or coffee servers, in danger.
"The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores," states the company’s official position, quoted by the news provider.
The developments are taking place as the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in one of its biggest cases in recent years, where the plaintiff in McDonald v. Chicago is urging the court to reverse the city’s 28-year-old handgun ban. 