'Groceries Not Guns' Movement Encourages Open Carry Ban in Stores

By WENDY ANN MITCHELL (Patch Staff)

A national movement has spread all the way to the Nutmeg State, as hundreds of residents against Connecticut’s open carry laws boycott retailers who allow gun owners to bring their firearms into their stores while shopping.

On Tuesday, Patch posted an article about residents boycotting a local Connecticut grocer. Patch has learned that the boycott stems from a national campaign, “Groceries Not Guns,” created by Moms Demand Action, a “non-partisan movement of Americans demanding reasonable solutions to address our nation’s culture of gun violence,” according to their website. The group encourages consumers to boycott grocery stores that allow open carry while shopping.

The largest target of their ads has been Kroger for its “failure to adopt gun sense policies that protect the safety of their customers and employees.” They released an ad that features an individual open carrying a firearm in the aisles of a supermarket to show the contrast of what the grocery chain does not allow; skateboards, animals, and squirt guns.

The movement encourages residents to boycott retailers who allow open carry and give one-star reviews on their Facebook pages to voice their opinion. Some are writing the same comment and giving one-star Facebook reviews on multiple pages.

Dana Amy Jonson wrote this on Big Y Bethel and Big Y Newtown’s Facebook Page — 1 star “I have shopped at Big Y since it opened here but was saddened today to learn that they permit open carry in their stores (and, yes, I got this information from the store directly). While open carry is legal in CT, private businesses can decide not to allow guns in their stores. Big Y does not yet have such a policy. So that you are aware, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Price Rite, Starbucks, and Target have policies that do not permit guns in their stores.”

The same review was given on Stew Leonard’s Danbury and Caraluzzi’s Bethel, Georgetown and Newtown Facebook pages.

Officer Todd Keeping, a Newtown resident, supports open carry. He wrote on Caraluzzi’s page:

Todd Keeping — 5 star “State law allows for open carry, better to know who has a gun then to be surprised. At least if it’s open you can be fairly certain the individual has a permit and has been through a background check.”

Joe LaPorta — 5 star “Every bad review hits the same theme “businesses are well within their rights...” Gotta love the organized bully tactics being used to force a grocery store to get involved in the gun control debate. Whatever happened to the days where we didn’t expect our grocery stores to align with our political agenda? Will you really declare victory by taking business away from a family owned store? Go ahead and line the CEO of Whole Food’s pockets some more... Geeze people.”

A Bethel resident, Chris Morton, who said he is not a gun owner or a “2nd amendment repealist” said he was concerned that “politicizing main street” will hurt local business owners. He wrote on a Facebook forum:

“Gun control is a national legal issue and societal cultural struggle. The fact that some people feel it necessary to fight this battle against local small businesses results in a net negative for everyone. Bringing this fight to local businesses only divides a community and hurts small business in the area. Whether you’re for or against the 2nd amendment, the local family run grocery store is not your enemy, nor is the community being divided by the issue. I want to point again that this big stink is only because a grocery store doesn’t have a policy preventing customers from doing something that the state deems legal. Are we to boycott or attack every small business that agrees with the law but disagrees with your personal politics? Please be a responsible opinion holder and keep your fight safely held in Hartford or to DC and by all means keep your politics away from my milk and eggs!”

Moms Demand Action encourages consumers to ”do your grocery shopping at a store that has stood up for customer safety by prohibiting open carry.” They list the following stores with gun sense policies:

• Costco
• Target
• Giant
• Whole Foods
• Sprouts Farmers Market

Click here to see a map of states in which open carry is legal.

How do you feel about open carry in grocery stores? Tell us in the comments.

Photo by Anthony Albright via Flickr Creative Commons