I’m going to Starbucks to support gun rights!

Feb. 22, 2013

By John Seiler

When my work is done today, I’m heading off to Starbucks to patronize their fine coffee. Three of their ships are half a mile of where I live.

That’s because today is the day gun-rights advocates are saying “Thank you!” to Starbucks for not buckling before immense pressure from Second Amendment fanatics. The fanatics demanded that Starbucks ban all guns from their shops.

Feb. 22 was chosen because it often is written 2-22 — the 2’s standing for the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms,” the foundation of all our sacred American liberties. If you can’t defend yourself against tyranny, what good are all the other rights, such as for speech, religion, assembly, etc.?

Starbucks’ position is simple: It follows local gun laws.

So in Arizona, a civilized place where any law-abiding citizen can carry a concealed weapon without even getting a permit from the state, Starbucks says it’s OK to bring your gun into their store. That also means the stores are safer, especially today, because any potential terrorist or robber knows he immediately would be aerated by the patrons.

California cronyism

Things are different in the California autocracy. Last year, “open carry” of firearms, which are displayed for all to see, was banned by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. The state keeps sliding toward a North Korean level of abuse of citizens’ liberties.

“Conceal-carry” — where the gun is hidden — long has been allowed only by permit. And permits in most places are give out only to the sheriff’s cronies and campaign donors. The L.A. Weekly just reported:

“The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is known in gun-rights circles for being stingy with concealed-weapons permits. Sheriff Lee Baca has total discretion over who is allowed to get a permit, and he hasn’t given out many.

“As of May 2012, only 341 people had been granted them, according to sheriff’s records. Compare that with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which had 1,754 permit holders in 2011, despite a population of just 2 million people to L.A.’s 10 million. The Kern County Sheriff granted even more, with 3,564 permit holders in a population of 800,000 people.

“In L.A. County, records show, most of the permits go to judges and reserve deputies. But there is another group that seems to have better luck than most in obtaining permits: friends of Lee Baca. Those who’ve given the sheriff gifts or donated to his campaign are disproportionately represented on the roster of permit holders.

“Chuck Michel, a gun-rights attorney who has pushed for greater access to concealed-weapons permits, says practices in many ‘anti-gun’ jurisdictions are ‘corrupted by favoritism and cronyism.'”

That pretty much sums up California government in most respects: “favoritism and cronyism.”

But a least today I will strike a blow for honesty and freedom by sipping a coffee (Tall, black) at Starbucks.