Gun fans cheer Starbucks

Dale Welch recently walked into a Starbucks in Virginia, handgun strapped to his waist, and ordered a Frappuccino with a cinnamon bun. His foray was part of an effort by some gun owners to exercise and advertise their rights in states that allow people to openly carry firearms.

Even in some “open carry” states, businesses are allowed to ban guns in their stores. And some have, creating political confrontations with gun owners. But Seattle-based Starbucks, the largest chain targeted, has refused to take the bait, saying in a statement this month that it follows state and local laws and has its own safety measures in its stores.

“Starbucks is a special target because it’s from the hippie West Coast, and a lot of dedicated consumers who pay $4 for coffee have expectations that Starbucks would ban guns. And here they aren’t,” said John Bruce, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi who is an expert in gun policy.

Just as shops can deny service to barefoot customers, restaurants and stores in some states can declare their premises gun-free zones.

OpenCarry.org, an advocacy group encouraging the demonstrations, applauded Starbucks for “deciding not to discriminate against lawful gun carriers.”

“Starbucks is seen as a responsible corporation and they’re seen as a very progressive corporation, and this policy is very much in keeping with that,” said John Pierce, co-founder of OpenCarry.org. “If you’re going to support individual rights, you have to support them all. I applaud them, and I’ve gone out of my way personally to let every manager of every Starbucks I pass know that.”

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has responded by circulating a petition that soon attracted 26,000 signatures demanding that Starbucks “offer espresso shots, not gunshots” and declare its coffeehouses “gun-free zones.”

Gun control advocates hope the coffeehouse firearms displays end up aggravating more people than they inspire.

“If you want to dress up and go out and make a little political theater by frightening children in the local Starbucks, if that’s what you want to spend your energy on, go right ahead,” said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady campaign. “But going out and wearing a gun on your belt to show the world you’re allowed to is a little juvenile.”

Gun control opponents have trumpeted fears that gun rights would erode under a Democrat-led White House and Congress, but President Barack Obama and his allies have largely been silent on issues such as reviving an assault weapons ban.

Gun rights groups are looking to build on a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban, and cheered legislation that took effect Monday allowing licensed gun owners to bring firearms into national parks. Obama signed that law as part of a broader bill.