Cup of joe and a 9mm gun

SEATTLE -- A national debate over guns has hit local coffee chains in the Seattle area, according to a Facebook post “I love guns and coffee” that has Starbucks once again looking down the barrel of a gun between gun rights advocates and gun control groups.

Several thousand gun rights activists plan to visit their local Starbucks with their firearms for “Starbucks Appreciation Day.” The event is scheduled for Friday.

“Starbucks is allowing us to lawfully carry firearms in their store. Recently, they have been the target of unjust attacks from certain groups that do not support our right to bear arms. We will thank Starbucks for standing up for our right to bear arms by going there on Friday, August 9th,“  a post on the Facebook page read.



“We ask that if you choose to carry a firearm during this event that you follow all local, state, and national laws; and if you choose not to carry that you wear pro-gun rights apparel."

The company faced pressure from gun control advocates to ban firearms from their store, so gun owners began staging the "appreciation days" a few years ago.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz resisted the move, saying in one interview, “I’m not a politician. I run a coffee company and we’re trying to abide by the laws in which we do business,”  he told the Washington Times,