Well, it's been too long since I've posted anything. I'm annoyed at myself for that, but it was important that I finished my school semester strong (I did) so I guess no regrets. It's summer now and I'm getting myself back on track. I want to start with the story about guns in Chipotle.
There are groups across this country that make a point of being "open carry" advocates. I think it's fair to refer to these groups as zealous defenders of second amendment rights. For them, it is more than just being able to have a gun, in order to protect gun rights you have to carry it openly, preferably loaded and the bigger the gun the better. One of these groups went to a Chipotle restaurant carrying their weapons (some semi-automatic) ordered food and ate their meal.
Now, I've actually watched a few open carry demonstration videos on YouTube and think it is important to present their actions honestly. First, they did call the restaurant in advance (or it has been reported) to let the manager know that they would like to come and that they are an open carry group. Second, they appear to be friendly and harmless, it seems they are making a point of appearing as upstanding citizens merely out to protect their rights. I haven't seen any foolish or childlike behavior, they aren't threatening anyone, they aren't playing with their guns; they just come in, eat, and leave.
Ok, with all those caveats in place lets move on to Chipotle's response to the whole ordeal. They put out a very carefully worded statement "respectfully" asking customers not to bring guns into their restaurants. The whole statement is very carefully written to try not to inflame groups on either side of the debate. I have to say, I do feel sorry for Chipotle, I'm sure the last thing they want is to become a focal point in a highly contentious debate that really has nothing to do with their food. It's not like they are Chick-Fil-A and intentionally interjected themselves into a morally charged debate. Let's look at some of the statements they made: First, they said "we hope that our customers who oppose the carrying of guns in public agree with us that it is the role of elected officials and the legislative process to set policy in this area, not the role of businesses like Chipotle." Second, "this issue is not central to the operation of our business, and we do not feel that our restaurants should be used as a platform for either side of the debate." Obviously this is not something Chipotle wanted, they realize that no matter what stance they take they are going to anger some people and they would much rather have not taken any stance. But I want to focus on that first part that claims that it should be legislators and not businesses that have to set policy in this arena.
I don't know about you, but it sounds really strange to hear a business saying that they don't want authority over some policy and that politicians should set some policy that they all have to follow. The standard line for business is that business knows best and that government should get out of the way. They don't want government telling them what kind of food they can serve, how high of a quality it should be, how nutritious it needs to be, when they can open or close, when they can serve alcohol, or any of the infinite other operating decisions that they must face. But all of the sudden, when there is an issue that they know is going to ruffle some feathers one way or the other, "it's not our job to make this decision, government knows best!" I think this is a bigger win for Liberals than Chipotle's decision to ask customers not to bring guns into their store. This is Corporate America (Chipotle is owned by McDonalds Corp.) saying that government can and should regulate some aspect of their operation. I agree, it is government's place to step in and set some guidelines for safety across every industry in America. I believe that our governments number one job is to protect us from foreign threats, but their second job is to protect us from big business that sees all of humanity as dollars and cents. What I find terribly ironic about this whole situation is that it is entirely their own fault. It is business' fault that government hasn't set policy in this area, it is their fault that our politicians sit on their hands because they are the ones that tied their hands behind their backs. They are the ones who spend millions of dollars getting enough politicians elected who promise to do nothing when it comes to government regulation.
Ok, I'm being a bit unfair… It's not just Chipotle, it might not even be Chipotle who has spent so luxuriously to ensure that government is incapable of completing the task they are now criticizing them for not accomplishing. But make no mistake, this is CORPORATE AMERICAS FAULT: they asked for a government that does nothing, and now that they have it they complain about it.
One final note, in their statement they said "The vast majority of gun owners are responsible citizens and we appreciate them honoring this request." I have to say, I think this is bull. I don't see how you can be a responsible citizen and carry a semi-automatic gun into a restaurant, I'm sorry but, for me, those are mutually exclusive categories. Even so, most gun owners don't go around carrying assault weapons with them everywhere they go, so they're responsible right? Wrong. Responsibility is more than just not carrying around your assault rifle or blowing people brains off, responsibility is taking extra steps to ensure others don't either. What does that mean? That means supporting universal background checks. Let's turn back to Chipotle, each restaurant is subject to a yearly surprise inspection, ensuring that they are practicing safe food handling and that the restaurant is clean and the food is safe. Chipotle is a big company, I'm sure their restaurants pass at least 99% of the time (it is disgustingly easy to pass with an A I might add) yet they still have to subject themselves to that extra scrutiny so that the public knows that all restaurants are sporadically checked. Responsibility means agreeing to a little extra burden so that we can be more secure, whether through background checks and waiting periods for gun ownership or through surprise inspections of your restaurant. Responsibility is more than personal responsibility, it is making sure that the entire system is responsible and right now the gun ownership system is entirely too irresponsible.
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