Starbucks has asked its customers with guns to leave them at home.
Company chief executive officer Howard Schultz told Reuters that while a ban is not being placed on firearms, he hopes customers will honor the company's wishes. Regardless, Starbucks employees will serve customers whether they have one of not.
"We will not ask you to leave," Schultz told the Associated Press.
The news is the latest development in the company's support for gun control, a hotly debated topic in the U.S.
"Both sides of the issue have staged events at Starbucks, so our company has been characterized as pro and anti-gun, but we're neither'" Schultz told USA Today. "Very few issues are as emotional or as polarizing as this."
Schultz said Starbucks is allowing guns in its stores throughout the 40 states.
According to Schultz, the timing of its policy is not a result of Monday's shooting at Washington's Navy Yard where 12 people died. As the company pondered postponing the announcement after Monday's incident, but decided to proceed USA Today reported.
"The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers," Schultz said. "At this point we'll sit and monitor the situation.
"We're hoping that most people will honor the request," he said. "But even if gun-carrying customers don't honor the request, we'll serve them with a smile and not confront them."
Schultz said a ban would put his employees safety at risk.
"(Placing a ban) would potentially require our partners to confront armed customers," he said.
Schultz told USA Today, various incidents about guns in his stores within the past few months triggered his need to find a solution to an issue that several Starbucks customers do not favor.
"That made our customers feel quite uncomfortable," he said. "It got my attention."
