Until this month, coffee lovers with a hankering for a soy latte were welcome to bring their loaded weapons into Starbucks SBUX -0.29% outlets nationwide.
That is, until Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter to Americans making a “respectful request” that java junkies leave their guns at home.
Schultz didn’t ban guns from the coffee giant’s stores, but he made it clear they’re not welcome, state-by-state “open carry” laws notwithstanding.
Now, with one major victory under their belts, gun control advocates are setting their sights on another large, publicly traded chain.
“We’re moving on from Starbucks to Staples SPLS -0.71%,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a group of 110,000 grassroots activists formed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
“Last month there was an accidental shooting at a Staples in North Carolina, and there have beenother incidents of gun violence inside stores,” said Watts, who lobbied Starbucks and Schultz prior to their policy change.
“Staples allows individual stores to prohibit guns, but there is no explicit corporate policy banning firearms.”
Moms Demand Action is putting pressure on Staples to enact a formal, nationwide no-guns rule in its 1,500-plus U.S. stores.
Watts sent a letter to Staples CEO Ronald Sargent in late September asking that the office supply chain act as a leader in prohibiting guns on its premises:
“More than 30 states allow citizens to legally buy and carry loaded weapons with no screening or training,” Watts wrote. “There is no guarantee that even a well-meaning individual knows how to properly carry and handle a gun.”
Watts noted that Staples is her group’s next target, but by no means its last.
“Obviously there are other companies we continue to target for pressure campaigns, including Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Cabela’s,” she said. “But they sell assault weapons. Companies like Staples should know better than to allow loaded guns inside their stores.”
Forbes reached out to Staples for comment and will update this post with any response. The company drew criticism from Second Amendment activists in June after rejecting a gun store’s entry into a small business contest. Staples apologized and said it would change its rules for future competitions.
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