Gun control groups have a new tack they’re taking to get their message and agenda out — targeting private companies and pressuring them to put in place Second Amendment crackdowns that the government can’t pass.
For one example: Starbucks. The coffee shop recently caved to gun control advocates and announced a policy a few months ago that prevents even permitted holders from openly carrying inside stores. Another example is Facebook, when company executives just put in place a restriction on gun owners who want to sell and trade weapons via social media.
The Second Amendment crackdown at private companies isn’t a coincidence, The Hill reported. Groups frustrated by a slowly moving Congress with members who can’t find the political consensus to tighten up gun laws are purposely putting the private sector in their crosshairs.
“Congress locked the door, so moms are going through the window,” said Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, in The Hill.
The group is akin to Mothers Against Drunk Driving — only for guns. And it’s leading up the anti-gun charge to switch tunes from government regulation to corporate policy, The Hill reported.
But gun rights groups aren’t overly impressed.
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“This is not the first time we’ve seen this kind of thing,” Gun Owners of America spokesman Erich Pratt said, referencing an endeavor a decade ago to sue gun manufacturers, in The Hill. “Whenever the anti-gun groups get stymied by Congress, they resort to boycotts and other private measures.”
Still others say the move to target private industries will prove successful.
“Corporations have great influence in American society,” and they’re always looking for the next corporate social responsibility charge to lead, said Ladd Everitt, who speaks for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, The Hill reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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