Hooray For Starbucks And Gun Rights

The major news media was replete with reports over the
weekend that the coffee company, Starbucks, "has no
problem with customers packing heat while placing their
orders."

"The coffee giant says it won`t take issue with gun
owners who take advantage of `open carry` laws and bring
firearms into their restaurant."
(Source:


NBC News)

To tell you the truth, I`m not sure why this is even
considered "newsworthy." Perhaps because Starbucks is a


Seattle-based company
that
caters to the
"yuppie" crowd?
Maybe because the


anti-gun national news media
is shocked and chagrined at Starbucks` statement? Who
knows? That Starbucks would not want to alienate
millions of gun owners (many of whom lawfully carry
concealed weapons for


personal protection)
makes perfectly good sense to me. I`m sure the statement
by Starbucks has little to do with guns and everything
to do with business. But the fact is, there are tens of
thousands of lawfully armed citizens who carry either
concealed or open that have been peacefully doing
business with thousands of companies around the country
for years.

At last glance, 12 states allow unrestricted open carry.
Those states are Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,
Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont,
Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. Plus, at least
13 other states allow restricted open carry (meaning a
permit is required). I know it infuriates gun-grabbing
liberals to admit this, but the facts are absolutely
undeniable that an armed citizenry is far and away a
more civilized and peaceful citizenry.

Founding Father, author of the Declaration of
Independence, and our third President Thomas Jefferson
rightly


said,
"Laws that forbid
the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are
neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . .
Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better
for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than
to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked
with greater confidence than an armed man."

Founding Father, the man called
"the father of
the U.S. Constitution," and our 4th President James
Madison, agreed with Jefferson. He wrote in


Federalist, Number 46,
"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being
armed, which Americans possess over the people of almost
every other nation . . . [where] the governments are
afraid to trust the people with arms."

Founding Father and author of the classic Revolution-era
books,




"Common Sense"
and


"Rights of Man,"
Thomas Paine


concurred.
He said, "Arms
discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property . .
. Horrid mischief would ensue were [the law-abiding]
deprived of the use of them."

And should there be any doubt in the minds of sincere
men regarding the advantages and appropriateness of an
armed citizenry, the research of


John R. Lott, Jr.
is more than sufficient to dispel it. Lott is a senior
research scientist at the University of Maryland,
College Park. He was previously the John M. Olin
Visiting Law and Economics Fellow at the University of
Chicago Law School. His book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws,

is the most authoritative and thoroughly
researched volume on the subject. And the title of his
book is exactly what his research proves: More guns,
less crime!

Lott`s analysis "is based on data for all 3,054 counties in the United States during 18
years from 1977 to 1994." Lott said carry laws
reduce violent crime because
"victims who have
guns are in a much



better position
to defend themselves."
DUH!

See a University of Chicago-sponsored interview with Mr.
Lott


here.

Of course, liberal gun-grabbers love to instill fear
into people by saying that citizens carrying guns will
result in more incidents of violence. However, the facts
just do not substantiate this hysteria. Even our local
"mullet wrapper"
recently ran a column excoriating the new law that
allows concealed carry permit holders to carry his or
her sidearm in national parks and forests. The basis of
their diatribe?
"It`s a risky change that will endanger families,
hikers, those who work in these places and the park
rangers themselves."

See the rant


here.

Like all gun-grabbers, however, the fearmongering of the
editorial board at the
Pensacola,
Florida, News Journal just does not square with the
facts. As Lott observes,
"Criminals are
deterred by higher penalties. Just as higher arrest and
conviction rates deter crime, so does the risk that
someone committing a crime will confront someone able to
defend him or herself. There is a strong negative
relationship between the number of law-abiding citizens
with permits and the crime rate–as more people obtain
permits there is a greater decline in violent crime
rates. For each additional year that a concealed handgun
law is in effect the murder rate declines by 3 percent,
rape by 2 percent, and robberies by over 2 percent."

Accordingly, the new law allowing concealed carry permit
holders to carry in national parks and forests serves
only to make those parks and forests safer.

I well remember being invited to speak in the rural
Montana town of Hamilton last year. Somewhere between
600 and 800 people assembled at the local fairgrounds to
hear me speak. It was a terrific rally with some of the
most patriotic and enthusiastic people I have ever
spoken to. (They have invited me back to speak, this
time at the University of Montana in Missoula, to a much
larger crowd of probably several thousand later this
May.)

Along with the vibrancy, energy, and sheer enthusiasm of
that audience I observed that scores of people were
openly carrying handguns on their hips. (No telling how
many people were carrying concealed. Scores more, I`m
sure.) Can one imagine a would-be killer trying to open
fire in that meeting? Needless to say, not only did I
feel at home, I felt absolutely safe–a whole lot safer
than I feel when I travel to Washington, D.C. (or any
other city or State restricting gun possession), that is
for sure!

Obviously, the executives at Starbucks are wiser and
more discerning than a majority of newspaper editors and
television news anchors. They have seen several other
business establishments that have introduced corporate
policies prohibiting lawfully armed citizens from
entering their establishments–and they`ve seen their
profits and customer bases shrink dramatically! They`ve
also, no doubt, seen what happened in Luby`s Cafeteria
in Killeen, Texas, when a madman crashed his vehicle
into the restaurant and began shooting patrons at will.
The total carnage on that horrific day back in 1991
resulted in 23 people dead and 20 more wounded, and the
killer eventually killing himself. Some 80 people were
in the restaurant when the shooting occurred, but Texas
did not have a concealed carry law at the time, so no
one was armed and able to fight back.

At this point, I strongly urge readers to watch the
eyewitness testimony of former Texas State
Representative Dr.


Suzanna Gratia-Hupp–whose
parents were killed in the Luby`s Cafeteria
rampage–given before the US Congress. See her testimony



here.

Therefore, the sadness and chagrin of liberal
gun-grabbers notwithstanding, I say,
"Hooray for Starbucks!" And I don`t even like their coffee. Maybe
I`ll give them another chance.

Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a

weekly radio show. His
website is

here.