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Whataburger is a well-liked and well established Texas burger franchise. You can’t roll through a small town in Texas without passing a Whataburger or two, and their delicious burgers are reason enough why. Heck, it was while sitting in a Whataburger drive-thru with Tyler Kee after my first morning hunting that I decided to move down to the Lone Star State full time. While Whataburger is a proud Texas empire, it seems that they aren’t embracing the forthcoming decriminalization of open carry with open arms . . .

On July 2nd, the CEO of Whataburger penned an open letter clarifying their position on firearms. In it, he uses the all too familiar “I’m a gun-loving hunter and concealed carry holder, but…”

Whataburger supports customers’ Second Amendment rights and we respect your group’s position, but we haven’t allowed the open carry of firearms in our restaurants for a long time (although we have not prohibited licensed conceal carry). It’s a business decision we made a long time ago and have stood by, and I think it’s important you know why.

[…]

We’ve had many customers and employees tell us they’re uncomfortable being around someone with a visible firearm who is not a member of law enforcement, and as a business, we have to listen and value that feedback in the same way we value yours. We have a responsibility to make sure everyone who walks into our restaurants feels comfortable. For that reason, we don’t restrict licensed concealed carry but do ask customers not to open carry in our restaurants.

I’ll be honest, I can’t find much reason to grab the pitchforks and torches over this. Open carry might be normal for us gun owners, but for the average citizen it can be intimidating. Just look at how the gun control activists get all up in a tizzy at the mere sight of a gun. As a business owner you definitely don’t want to alienate anyone from your stores and open carry might be something that keeps people from coming in the doors.

He’s not saying don’t bring guns into the store, he’s just saying be considerate to others and cover them up while inside. Considering a CHL will be required to open carry in Texas, that’s not an unreasonable request. All he’s asking is that people un-tuck their shirt and cover their gun while munching on their burgers. We’ll see if he goes so far as to post 30.07 signs in the chain’s Texas locations.

On that note, I think I’ll go have a Whataburger with bacon and cheese . . .

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160 COMMENTS

  1. Considering I have recently OC’ed into a whataburger here in Phoenix with not even a sideways glance I have a feeling this particular request lacks teeth.

    • Be fair, Open Carry is super normal in Phoenix and it happens regularly and has happened through many yeas. Only the snow birds get upset and then threaten to leave the state (which we promptly offer them help in showing them the door permanently). Texas just got the right recently. It’ll take a bit.

      • I am still going to OC, and I am still going to eat at WB. The first time they tell me to leave will be the last time I go there. Simple as that.

        • Same here. If they tell me to leave then fine. Really I just tucked my shirt in dang it !

      • I open carry into WB all the time in neighboring Oklahoma without issue. I guess Texas has too many liberals.

  2. The ultimate in hypocrisy — a fast food dump concerned about its customers!

    Whataburger’s French fries will kill more customers in a month than open carriers will kill in a century. So Whatburger, cover up those fries because they’re dangerous, make me uncomfortable, and they kill.

    • I just ate a big handful of their greasy fries and agree with this message. They also asked me to “Whatasize it” or whatever. I declined. Whatasizing reduces people’s lifespan considerably. 18 teaspoons of sugar in my beverage? Pass. I’m more concerned about what they fried my fries in (e.g. Gutter Grease?) than an open carrier coming in to whataburger.

    • “Whataburger’s French fries will kill more customers in a month than open carriers will kill in a century. So Whatburger, cover up those fries because they’re dangerous, make me uncomfortable, and they kill.”

      Cover up those fries with melted cheese, you mean.

      Yeah.

      (*Burp*)

      🙂

    • It is not about killing. They are concerned about where their customer’s money goes as are all competent businesses. They calculated this was the highest dollar path. It is also an ethical thing to do since it is their property and people can go elsewhere if they find the policy problematic.

  3. When this applied to LEO as well, I will go back. until then, I have had my last WB. I see BP and local PD tooled up having a burger, but you or i can’t? .

  4. Given the high correlation between Whataburger’s “food” and explosive diarrhea, I think concealed carry is definitely out of the question.

  5. Right to bear arms – in the Constitution (as amended by Bill of Rights).

    Right to “feel safe” – hmm, no, that’s not in there.

    Well, unless they change their minds between now and January (or post the 30.07 signs), I may just have to test this. Either that or stop enjoying their tasty burgers.

    • I’m pretty sure Whataburger is not a government agency, so it is not bound by constitutional restrictions on government actions.
      Whataburger has no right to restrict you from owning or carrying a gun, but they do have the right to prohibit you from their property using any criteria they choose, including carrying a gun.

        • They have the right to discriminate on any criteria. Certain federal laws violate that right for some criteria.

        • With that, I can agree. I originally took your comment to mean that they could legally for any criteria. I was mistaken about your meaning.

          But, I would much, much, much rather a business be unmolested by government in the exercise of that right. How it stands now is that certain people can’t legally be discriminated against while others can. Under that system, a business that invites the public in ought not discriminate against any group.

  6. No torches or pitchforks required.
    I’ll just eat somewhere else.

    There are many perfectly lawful human behaviors that make me uncomfortable, or even disgusted. If I need to be tolerant, so do they.

    • Agreed.
      There’s no downside to discriminating against a segment of society if that segment likes being looked down upon by burger-flippers.

      Enjoy your burgers, guys.
      As for me, the taste when I throw up in my mouth at the thought of being treated like a second class customer is not enjoyable.

    • It’s an economic calculation: How much money will we lose if we piss off open carry supporters vs how much money will we lose if we piss off people who are afraid of guns in the hands of citizens not wearing stupid costumes and badges.

      • Almost certainly more than the open carriers.

        Who has more disposable income? The OFWG, the anti-gun harpy?

        • Exactly! When you consider that roughly
          3-4% of the population even have a CHL and out of that group of potential customers, even if as many as half of them (VERY generous WAG I think) felt so strongly that their mission in life is to strap on their six-shooter and belly up to the counter at Whataburger, then this policy works just fine for approx 98-99% of the people. No brainer…let the OCers go to Jack-in-the Box

  7. “I’ll be honest, I can’t find much reason to grab the pitchforks and torches over this.”

    Me either. It’s his store and he can run it the way he wants. If I want one of the best classic fast-food cheeseburgers in existence then I won’t open-carry in Whataburger. It’s not a big deal.

  8. That is the kind of rationalization you get when a place you actually like goes against your principles. At some point you may really have to choose, just maybe, or not. Must be good burgers.

  9. I’m fine with it. I love their burgers and can carry concealed. Seems to me that’s what real middle-ground looks like.

      • Where private business owners are concerned, not being expressly forbidden to carry, but only from open carrying, so as not to alarm the hoplophobes that may also enjoy a Whataburger, it IS indeed middle ground.

        That is to say it is not the kind of compromise asked of us by the hoplophobes themselves, who continually move the goal-posts and ask us to compromise again and again.

        • It is not a middle ground. It is political cowardice.
          “Don’t ask, don’t tell” applied to RKBA.

        • It can’t be political cowardice if its not a political question. This isn’t some Legislature deciding you can’t carry into public building or on some public property. Its seems clearly to be a private entity trying to make concession to both parties so as not to loose the business of either. I support their right to restrict arms on their property in the same way i support your right to not eat there – indeed I wouldn’t be eating there if their choices had made it impossible for me to carry there.

  10. Funny how when restaurants advertise their support for the 2nd Amendment and offer POTG a discount that their sales go through the roof. Wonder how well the antis are going to support this decision.

  11. Being considerate of others never hurts our ability to help people be comfortable with our 2nd amendment rights. That’s reality. Sheep hate sheep dogs until they save them from the wolves. And we all know that professional sheep dogs never show up on time. So its us.

    So let’s be considerate and respectful of people who are sheep (and I don’t say that derogatorily) and who have fears over tools that are designed to kill. Yes, that is scary to many people. That is just they way they are. And they grant us, at least for now, the respect of the 2nd amendment as long as we are responsible and don’t take this very important right and shove it in their faces which open carry is sorta that. CC … no problem.

    Responsible and respectful will win. Add a healthy does of eduction starting when children are young also helps. I’m for mandatory gun safety classes in high school. Guns are part of our culture. Let’s keep it that way. Why, asks the progressives and utopianists? Again, history clearly demonstrates that the gun is the great equalizer in the face of tyranny; thug or dictator. Its really that simple. Our founders knew that. And ask those who watched Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol pot kill 10s of millions in this century alone.

    So let’s keep the sheep from getting restless and know your audience when you open carry.

    • Those killings happened last century. Its been the 21st century for over 15 years now. Good to edit stuff before you post.

        • Thanks for the support.

          You know it is interesting. In our public square, we so often take a word or two or obvious error in the selection of a word or two to show disagreement with the author or speaker to infer a weakness in an argument when in fact, the disagreement has nothing to do with the point made. Watching the news and the political arena we see it all the time. Its not about the idea or the point, its about discrediting the person based on an obvious technicality or flub. We all make them. ALL. And this trend, frankly, drives people from the public square who have good ideas to be considered because they fear being attacked if and when they make an honest error in the choice of words. Its too bad but that is life in the square …. unfortunately.

        • Jim,

          Everything you’ve just said is utter and complete crap, because you left out the apostrophe in “it’s” in the last sentence.

          (/sarcasm, I shouldn’t have to say, but will anyway, just in case)

  12. I have to say I was pretty peeved when I read this news the other day. As someone who had lived in Whataburger’s hometown for most of my life, I’m disappointed in this even becoming an issue for Whataburger.

    I know this is an issue for the “foreign” invaders like Chipolte, but Whataburger?

    Well, this gives me something to think about while I wait a week or so before my CHL shows up in the mail.

    I guess the plus side of things is we can still have our Whataburger and eat it too. We can open carry as we go through the drive thru and eat in the parking lot as neither are considered the “premises” (only the building).

    • Yeah, I live a couple of miles or so from their current HQ, and it feels kind of like a betrayal. Et tu, Whataburger???

  13. Based on the youtube videos I’ve seen, it appears that a lot of OC fans are quite fond of such establishments.

  14. Well, at the very least they didn’t make it a blanket “please no guns” as many other places (target, chipotle, starbucks, etc) did, in response to anti-open-carry hysterics. They at least limited it to the immediate target of the hysteria, open carry.

    That doesn’t make me happy about it. On the other hand, this has zero effect on me as this chain hasn’t gone uphill to Colorado yet.

  15. I have never even seen one, but if I did and felt like that sort of thing I’d still eat there. It is their property and they are not being unreasonable.

  16. Don’t live near, or have ever eaten at a “Whatchmacallit burger joint, but I gotta tell you, that picture of that burger has really got got my taste buds all worked up.
    Gotta go eat!

  17. How do burger flippers magically know who is and is not a member of law enforcement? I see no “uniformed” qualifier in the statement. Are they going to demand credentials at the counter?

  18. “He’s not saying don’t bring [women] into the store, he’s just saying be considerate to others and cover them up while inside.”

    Whataburger’s War on Women is antiquated and outrageous in the 21st century! I’d expect this from ISISburger, but not Whataburger!

    “He’s not saying don’t bring [blacks] into the store, he’s just saying be considerate to others and [not seat them at the counter] while inside.”

    Seriously?! We’re pulling down Confederate flags and changing place names to distance ourselves from our institutional racist past, but WhitesOnlyBurger is actually rolling the clock back to the segregation era?! Unconscionable!

    “He’s not saying don’t bring [Jews] into the store, he’s just saying be considerate to others and [mark them with a yellow star of David] while inside.”

    Mother of God, they’re starting that crap again? Whataburger’s launching Ketchupnacht.

    Oh wait, they’re only imposing don’t ask, don’t tell on the illiterate, inbred, redneck ammosexuals and their immoral, perverted love for their icky guns? In that case, no problem. That’s an anti-civil rights movement I can safely and smugly support.

    • I like carry, both open and concealed, but this comparison is asinine.

      In the other cases, the discrimination was based on some attribute of the person that they had no control over (woman, black, Jew). (And yes, the Nazis had a problem with ethnic Jewry, not the religion so much. A “Juden” could be a convert to Christianity and still be gas chamber bait.)

      Open carry is a behavior which you could modify. In their eyes, it’s not only a modifiable behavior, it’s an egregiously scary or even dangerous one. (They’re wrong about that, but it doesn’t matter, they’re not using your head to think with as they construct their arguments, and neither are many of their listeners.) So they’ll likely laugh in your face if you pull this comparison on them, and they won’t be completely unjustified, because you are comparing apples and oranges.

      Mind you, I agree wholeheartedly with your desire to exercise your 2A right in the manner that suits you. But making a bad argument against those “uncomfortable” with your choice won’t convince anyone, it will only make you look like a jackass they can make fun of.

      • SteveInCo,

        I get what you are saying.

        Look at it this way. What if a bunch of people say that they are intensely afraid of anyone who breathes through their mouth rather than their nose. And they justify their fear claiming that mouth breathers have a much higher probability of spreading dangerous diseases than nose breathers. In fact they are so intensely afraid and uncomfortable with mouth breathers that they demand restaurants ban mouth breathers. Under your criteria, that is okay since mouth breathers have an easy choice to simply close their mouths and breathe through their noses, right?

        • It’s not “my” criteria, it’s (apparently) theirs. I wasn’t trying to say it’s OK because OC isn’t inborn and race is, I was trying to point out that THEY will say so.

          The point was: Not to compare apples (the behavior of open carry) to oranges (being born with skin of a certain color, or to parents of a certain culture, or with innie rather than outie plumbing). They’ll attack the validity of the comparison and say the cases aren’t parallel, and they’ll be right. They’re not parallel.

          The one you supplied is better, though it’s less obviously an appeal to emotions as mouth breathers haven’t been overtly persecuted (though it’s astounding how many people hold ’em in contempt). [Actually the more I think about it, mouth breathing sometimes isn’t optional, for people with perpetually congested noses,]

        • No problem here-reread what YOU wrote. And leave a reply slick-or is everyone beneath your vaunted intellect?

      • “He’s not saying don’t bring [a hijab] into the store, he’s just saying be considerate to others and [take it off] while inside.”

        How’s that for a comparison? It’s behavior, and one that certain people might have negative associations with. They might be uncomfortable with it. But in terms of compliance, it’s simply removing headgear.

        The big difference, of course, is religion is a protected class, while the right to bear arms is barely a right at all these days, and this is a pretty good demonstration of that fact.

        • That’s a vastly better example. (Though there’s a different hazard there’ there are few people complaining about hijabs being scary and they’ll attack such a comparison for that reason instead.)

          I wasn’t trying to say don’t make comparisons, I was only trying to say comparing open carry to being part of a “minority” (women aren’t a minority) is stupid. Make the *right* comparison.

      • Wow Steve you are so full of shite-did you read what you typed??? Behavior” not skin color”…like “acting gay”? But modify a legal gun-carrying behavior-to please a greasy spoon…

        • Reading comprehension fail, Water Walker.

          I in no way approve of what Whataburger is saying.

          But Jonathan-Houston’s counter-argument is stupid, becuase he’s comparing apples (being discriminated against because of something you’re born being and have no control over) to oranges (being discriminated against because of a fully-volitional behavior).

          I don’t like stupid arguments, especially when they come from someone on my side.

      • Steve, you rag on me non-stop, with asinine responses of your own so forced and contrived they’re laughable and obviously personal. Sorry they’re not as informed and insightful as mine regularly are, but your responses are a boil on the butt of the relevant and entirely unworthy of my time. You’re out of your league, pal.

        I alluded to sexual orientation, too, which is behavior based, with some other elements. It’s fundamental civil rights that matters, not simply born physical traits.

    • No visible yarmulkes, crosses, saint medals, Bibles, Stars of David, etc. Same idea. It’s discrimination. Being armed is an essential part of my belief system and is on par with religious preference (seriously). I won’t preach the Gospel of the Gun there but I shouldn’t have to remove from my person or hide a major symbol of my beliefs in a business that opens their doors to the public.

      I would rather have absolute private property rights upheld (no whites, no blacks, no Jews, no Greeks, no straights, no gays, etc) than this “who is a political favorite of an agenda” game. Until then, if they invite the public in then they ought not be discriminating against segments of that public.

      • Yep. Carrying a self-defense side arm is the definition of a free person, for all of recorded history. Those denied that right were looked upon as a peasant, peon and outright slave. Still are.

        The business, supposedly in business to sell to the public, is telling me I can only attend their public business looking like a subject, a subservient non-entity. Even as property. As a slave.

        So no, it is not a reasonable request.

  19. “Open carry might be normal for us gun owners, but for the average citizen it can be intimidating.”

    …until it becomes as common as seeing a cop engaging in open carry.
    Then it’s just normal.

    100 years ago, automobiles intimidated a lot of people. Now if you asked for cars to be kept out of public view because you’re afraid of them, you’d be treated like you belong in an asylum.

    Moves like the Whatabummer letter prevent the normalizing of lawful carry.
    No, I won’t show up at a burger joint with torches and pitchforks. I won’t show up with money to spend there either.

    • Honestly you have to give it time. Here in AZ, few people care if you have a gun on your hip. They barely notice. As more parts of the country become open carry, and people carry their firearms respectfully and not shoving it in people’s faces(figuratively) that they can, open carry becomes so ubiquitous that it behooves a business not to tell people not to carry…

      • and people carry their firearms respectfully and not shoving it in people’s faces(figuratively)

        Nobody has been doing that, even figuratively. That’s hyperbolic language intended to mislead as to what actually is going on.

    • Good insight with the autos example. I hadn’t thought of that.

      Now that you mention it, I recall reading once on college that a sizable percentage of bank customers were intimidated by drive-through teller windows and the pneumatic tubes when those first came out, that is was enough to throw off all of their calculations about number of lanes needed, expected waiting times, total car volume, etc.

      I don’t recall people fearing ATMs when those went widescale in the 1980s, but I do know people today who are afraid to buy online. Who knows what practices people will adopt or reject and engage only reluctantly? People can be strange.

  20. We do have the option of going elsewhere. And while I didn’t turn my nose up at Whataburger while in Texas, I ate in so many other places that blew it out of the water, most of which I’m sure will support the right to OC.

    • Like where? I’m not challenging, just asking. For a chain, even a regional chain, Whataburger does make some great burgers. I’ve had better, too, at people’s homes, a couple upscale restaurants and the occasional roadside Mom & Pop in the middle of nowhere; but not at a major chain. Certainly not the Big Four.

      Rally’s, Carl’s Jr., In & Out, Five Guys, etc. all make a fine product, and I could see someone preferring any of those over Whataburger, but not blowing Whataburger away. I haven’t tried Smash Burger yet, which people do say is supposed to be amazing.

      • Chain = Smashburger bar none. Makes Whataburger seem like McDonald’s.

        And mom & pop stores all the time every time over Whataburger. I support local whenever I can. Also, a Mom & Pop is more likely to tolerate CC & (soon) OC on their premises. There’s no busybody back at corporate telling them what to do.

  21. Odd response by WhataBurger.

    In the community where I live (Liberty, Texas), there are so many sketchy characters hanging around the WhataBurger that I NEVER get out of my car there – never. When I go through the drive in, I roll down the window quickly and then button-up tight – also because of the shady crowd inside and out.

    To welcome so many truly threatening characters and then to oppose OC is just odd.

    BTW – I’m not too fond of OC in the first place.

  22. As Texans juices flow and the excitement of legal licensed open carry kicks in for handguns 1 Jan they will be going everywhere to see how it feels.
    I expect more businesses to do same as Whataburger. I see these moves as a temporary “buffer” to soften the mad open handgun rush in Jan patrons will see until the excitement wears off and the population is more comfortable and educated with the new law if they ever get to that point.
    If I was a business owner I would do the same as Whataburger for awhile in the early months of 2016 as attempt to reduce patron chair wetting and police encounters with legal carriers disruptive to my in store sales.
    As time goes by a person could go weeks or months and not see an open carry. Then all is normal again and business as usual with rare occasions of spotting an OC.
    Jan 1 should be very entertaining and childish people will brag and post selfies to show they are the first to OC in a certain place. To those get a life.

    • Arizona has open carry. It’s gone the other way actually. More and more are open carrying, and businesses are unlocking the doors even when their corporate policies are not to allow firearms in. Chipotles here, despite the “no gun” policy by corporate, secretly allow firearms in(concealed, so as not to have some mommy demanding illegal mayor action call corporate). Costco often forgoes telling folks with firearms not to come in. Of course if they did, a large portion of their customer base would stop being their base haha.

  23. There’s always Braums and Five Guys, unless they’re also drinking from the same punchbowl of Flavor-Aid.

  24. I heard this on the radio, complete with a soundbite from Moms Demanding Action, so I sent them a polite email expressing my disappointment. When I have the choice, I patronize businesses with pro-gun rights policies. I also suggested a better course that many companies follow, which is to stay neutral in the controversy by just following local laws.

    Is this one thing on its own a big deal? No, I always use the drive through anyway and don’t plan to open carry very often. However, since this is new to TX, I want businesses to know that at least some of their customers won’t be pleased if they take the MDA position.

  25. Well written, Nick. Fair objective review. I just don’t understand the kind of response some of the readers are writing. Been a CHL in Texas 5 years. No big deal to go into Whataburger.. So — Whatsthe bigdeal over keeping concealed? OC isn’t legal here until 1-1-2016. Over night those who want to OC can go and OC on
    New Years Day! I’ll tell you this, in States where OC is already legal – I get a little concerned when I’ll see someone OC. One thing if you are in open country, but in the city? Just because it is legal… why? To impress? Hey, this isn’t Dodge City in the mid 1800’s.
    Where is our respect for others?
    A show-off shouldn’t be carrying anyway! Just because he can? Our rights were not put there for any type of possible intimidation!
    I am in agreement with the content and tone of Nick’s OP.
    And a Whataburger is still a darn good burger! The shakes are outstanding!
    They just make my gunbelt a little tooo tight!! ;}

    • Why do you CC? Are you embarrassed to open carry? It sure is easier on my dress code.
      It has nothing to do with intimidation.
      I live in Liberal land of Minnesota and openly carry every day/everywhere since it has been legal to do so.
      If it can be done here without the hysterics mda and the msm say there is, it can and should be done in Tx,

    • why? To impress? Hey, this isn’t Dodge City in the mid 1800’s.
      Where is our respect for others?
      A show-off shouldn’t be carrying anyway! Just because he can? Our rights were not put there for any type of possible intimidation!

      Throw in ammosexual and a penis size reference and you’d fit right in at an anti-gun rally. I open carry all of the time. In Ohio, OC is the only way to exercise the right. Concealed carry requires a license which makes it the exercise of a privilege. There are places in Ohio that it is a crime to conceal a firearm but one can openly bear arms legally. Only three locations require a concealed handgun license to carry a loaded handgun; in or on a motor vehicle, on K-12 school grounds, and in a bar There are several other reasons to open carry and they don’t have anything to do with impressing or intimidating other people. Concealed carry is fine and dandy. I support people’s choice to do so. I choose to openly bear arms.

      BTW: There is no requirement to conceal a handgun with a CHL. So, the legally safest way to carry a handgun in Ohio is while in possession of a CHL and bearing the handgun openly. That covers all the CHL only and OC only locations. Also, there is no such thing as a concealed carry license for a long gun in Ohio so it has to be in the open.

  26. As a Texan, I can say with absolute conviction, Whataburger’s moto should be, “Hey, at least we aren’t Mc D’s…”

    Their food will make a turd, at best.

  27. For those situations where a person wants to carry a handgun openly in a holster and yet feels compelled to conceal it (due to laws perhaps), how about wearing a nice looking shirt with a clean and simple graphic and words that make it very clear that the person is carrying a concealed handgun but isn’t displaying it because of the local law or whatever?

    I am thinking something along the lines of a polo shirt with a collar in a light color, a hyper-accurate photo of a handgun on the front and back, and a message along the lines of, “Yes, I have a concealed handgun under my shirt!”

  28. So I wonder if they’ll ban LEOs carrying if with of us make a stink about it saying we’re “uncomfortable”.

    • I genuinely am uncomfortable when I find myself in places that I am prohibited from bearing arms while agents of government are not. At least in my case, it would be the truth.

  29. Nick,
    You get a fat big F for this one.
    The Jews in Germany, the ethnic groups in Russia (Stalin), the people of Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico and the Brits all were disarmed because they never thought (or convinced themselves) anyone was going to hurt them. Disarming a population is a long and arduous process (use the media, change what is taught in school, register a few special guns, squeeze ammunition (per the UN), take them away from vets (our best trained civilian fighting force) and after a few decades you are THERE. We are getting there.
    If you think you’re going to be in a fight and this will be a long one, don’t give an inch on anything.

    Give thought to national reciprocity, you may get what you asked for.

    I asked a cop in Charlotte, NC if it was legal to carry, he said no problem. Well sorta, if a judge decides you were “going about to the terror of the people”, you are in the can. Charlotte is full of Yankees from the north, mostly democrats. Open carry is legal here, sort of.

    As an aside, do you all really think when the time comes (10 trillion) to haircutting our IRA’s and bank accounts that the government is going to give us plenty of warning about future seizures? In which case I have some beachfront property in south Dakota I’m willing to sell cheap.

  30. I have to wonder why any company would voluntarily issue a statement like this now. It’s not even a practical concern in Texas (where most of their stores are) until 1/1/2016, so I doubt that WhatAStomachache is getting tons of calls and letters from terrified patrons who fear they might see a gun six months from now. Furthermore, asking people to not OC is guaranteed to lose a certain amount of business. Just keeping quiet about it and not making it an issue might cause a handful of “Moms” to stay away, but the kind of liberal, upper-middle-class people who have enough free time to be active in ridiculous anti-civil-rights organizations probably don’t eat at WhatACaseOfTheRuns very often, anyway. Most ordinary people aren’t even going to notice if someone is OCing a gun on their hip, much less feel uncomfortable enough to leave and never come back.

    In short, I don’t see the upside here. If it was a year from now, and some yahoos were going around OCing everywhere and making a spectacle just to get attention, I could see making such a statement. But right now?

  31. Guns R scary….. except when they are part of uniform.

    So I can’t carry openly, but a Cop can? Are you sure it is the guns you are scared of?

  32. “uncomfortable being around someone with a visible firearm who is not a member of law enforcement, and as a business, we have to listen and value that feedback in the same way we value yours.”

    is that what you tell people who are gay too ;wantyourbooger?
    there are plenty of people uncomfortable with them..you don’t see whataburger telling gays to leave.
    so if i get this right………….whataburger will value the feedback of the minority of people who may be offended over the feedback of those who carry or dont care?…
    good business model chtyburger. you just lost a customer. bias hoplophobes.

  33. Some of y’all just kill me (in a humorously sense of wonderment kinda way).
    Where in the corporate policy does anyone infringe on our right to keep and bear arms?
    I love Whataburger and will continue to both eat and CONCEAL CARRY at Whataburger, regardless of passing a dumb and costly OC “law”.
    I reckon the average IQ level of a given Whataburger at any point in time will drastically increase after next Jan. Things that make you go hmmm….

    • I personally have little desire to OC, and I’m speaking only for myself here, but I don’t see it as an infringement. You’re right, it’s a private business, and they can conduct business however they see fit (personally, I would give private businesses the right to refuse business to anybody, for any reason, which is more freedom than the law generally allows).

      However, to me it shows a lack of respect for me and my rights. The statement flat-out says that they’ve considered the feedback from both OCers and hoplophobes and have decided that the hoplophobes’ feelings have more value to Whataburger than my rights. That’s fine, and I’ll give credit to him for not mincing words. People who are scared of guns are more welcome at Whataburger than a non-uniformed civilian with a gun. Got it. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the biggest issue in the world to get upset about, and the solution is simple: I’ll just buy my greasy, sloppy gut-bombs elsewhere. I’ll take it as an opportunity to patronize local burger joints instead of large chains.

      • Spot on.

        The only way someone can violate your rights is through force, threat of force, or fraud. Whataburger has used none on you, rather they’ve asked you to stay off his property. If this dipstick company objects to your mode of carry on their property, the proper response is to go elsewhere, and spread the word, not to scream about violating your rights, because they haven’t.

        • Really? So, if I go onto their property and refuse to leave, I am not violating their property rights because I haven’t used force against them, threatened them with force, or committed fraud? Also, if I open carry there and I refuse to leave, they will call the police who will then use the threat of force or actual force in proxy for Antiburger.

        • You are confusing “violence” and “force” Occupying someone else’s property without their consent is force, you’re using your physicality to deny them the use of their property.

        • As does someone else when they call agents of government to disarm me through threat of force or actual force. Except, mine is passive whereas theirs is active.

        • Active, passive, makes no difference. You’re the rights violator. You initiated the force.

        • … And with that I realize I should have said something that might make my stance clearer. An *initiation* of force is how rights are violated. Defensive force, or enough force to rectify the rights violation, is not an initiation.

  34. Never ate at whateverburger-probably never will in Illinois. And the honcho at a certain FB gun group I belong to thinks banning LEGAL OC is great-“let’s all support whata burger”. I may have to quit that group as I WANT to open carry some day. Their store-my $. I can’t believe the # of so-called POTG who don’t care. WHATever…

    • On this, sir, we do agree. That so-called gun forum is infested with Fudds and isn’t worthy of your time.

  35. I don’t eat there. Whataburger is the most expensive fast(ish) food place in town. I don’t like taking out a bank loan for a mediocre burger with soggy fries that look like they were dipped in the half gallon of Dr Pepper that comes with the meal.
    Just to be clear; had I eaten there before, I would have stopped once the signs went up.

  36. Call me Crazy… but Personal Property rights are important too.

    I support their request to conceal any gun you have on you if you come inside… If I am OC and CC is not an option, I will use the drive thru… For Pete’s sake, they usually have 2 drivethru lanes…

    If they would have said, no CC, then they can FO and I will go elsewhere.

    • Well, I won’t “support” it (if by that you mean, “approve of”) but I respect their right to make such a request. (They’re probably going to see a lot of inadvertent refusals of their wishes unless they post their stores, but that’s a different issue.) They have a right to make that request, and you and I and everyone else have a right to refuse to shop there ever again.

    • The personal property at issue here is my body: they don’t own it any more than the government does, and the artificial system of real estate as property cannot trump my right to do as I wish with the property that is my person. If they can’t tell my what to wear, how to think, who to vote for, or who/what to worship, they can’t tell me how to limit the exercise of any other innate right,.

  37. Eh, it’s a preemptive Starbucks maneuver. All they’re really saying is “don’t be a dick.” If this were something coming out of the blue, I’d be upset, but given how Texas just got OC, I imagine this is really just a response to people not knowing the new laws and panicking, making their employees’ days harder. I say let’s wait to see if they post 30.07 signs and go from there. Otherwise, I’d say normalization is still SOP.

      • i’d say the “chipoltle ninjas” out there certainly are “being dicks”…. at best. at worst giving ammunition to the anti’s propaganda. which is why if one is going to open carry, you be mindful to be dressed clean and act responsibly. because it’s very possible you will wind up on the news if not and will be used to further an agenda you obviously disagree with. moderates vote, remember that.

        • I have been on the news more than once and I am as I am. I don’t concern myself about how others might perceive me. I don’t go out of my way to necessarily stand out but I also don’t obsess over what others think.

          Again, openly bearing arms is not “being a dick.”

  38. I’ll still get burgers there. Demanding businesses allow carry of any kind or you will boycott them is just another form of tyranny. We will have become what we claim to oppose.

    • You’ve got it backwards: there is no inherent right to real estate; that’s an artificial “right” backed up by the force of government. I’m born with the right to have arms on my personal property, i.e. my person. Their government-enabled “right” can’t trump my inherent rights over my own person.

      Next you’ll be saying it’s okay for them to make you wear certain kinds of clothes, exclude certain skin colors, etc.

  39. Public displays of affection, gay or straight, make me uncomfortable. So I’m asking the CEO of Whataburger to ban humans touching each other while in their restaurants. Unless they are medical personnel in scrubs. But people can still touch each other under the table where I can’t see it, that’s OK.

    How about they post a sign that says “Guns are legal. There are more people carrying concealed in this restaurant than openly. If that frightens you, may we suggest you seek professional help?”

  40. I can open carry legally. I walk into a wtbeger and I quickly pull my jacket over, now I’m concealed but don’t have permit. Cop sees this and I am in prison. Don’t care don’t want don’t need Whateverabooger telling anyone how to conduct their Rights. I don’t buy the CEO’s soft comments for one second. Besides, all this does is further the notion a lawful citizen is a criminal and I despise this. Instead of people freaking out or employees being uncomfortable, maybe they should be taught to tell people it’s completely legal and a Right.

  41. I’ll bet more of their customers have died of heart disease from eating those burgers than have died from gunshots.

  42. Nope. Don’t care for his reasoning. I won’t support a restaurant that takes this stand. In 1967 the NRA supported California’s ban on carrying guns in public because people were getting scared the blacks were carrying. The thinking at the time was probably that it would be better for gun rights to coddle to the gun muggles who are frightened by guns. It’s a terrible strategy. I don’t personally open carry long guns, but I’m sick of supposed gun rights advocates saying stuff like “it makes gun owners look bad and sets us back.” Nope nope nope nope. Just embrace it and normalize it. Apologizing for the sight of guns on behalf of the muggles never worked and never will. The apologizing and placating is what sets us back.

  43. “Open carry might be normal for us gun owners, but for the average citizen it can be intimidating.”

    The real issue is that we’ve allowed the media to create this false distinction.

    The “average citizen” is a “gun owner.” Don’t adopt the us vs them game…

  44. so, for all those standing on their moral pedal stool, I’d like to know how many of you will quit your job tomorrow for the “utter outrage” that your employer not only doesn’t allow you to open carry, but doesn’t all you to carry at all(most likely). Yet, you will still be walking through that door tomorrow, and collecting that paycheck. So, who is going to stick to their beliefs they so fervently believe in on an internet forum/comment section and quit work tomorrow if their employer doesn’t allow them to open carry?? any takers? I thought not.

    • I imagine those people would remind you that there is a difference between being paid to do something and spending money someplace.
      Likely as well that many do not work in places opened to or inviting in the general public.

      • “difference between being paid to do something and spending money someplace” Well i’ll go ahead and take the tone of many here, and suggest that you are A OK with being paid to suspend your constitutional rights. sounds good, and not at all hypocritical.

        “likely as well that many do not work in places opened to or inviting in the general public” one, see above. for two, so you are saying to boycott a place of business “open to the public”, because apparently catering to your target demographic as a business which includes both gun owners and non-gun owners is early signs of the Apocalypse, that’s ok. But other businesses are allowed to in your view so long as they don’t sell direct to the consumer??? that’s your logic you are going with hmm?

        Way too much selective outrage around here. Call for a boycott when in all reality will effect your life very little if at all, make excuses as to why all the services utilized by you in your daily life by those that do prohibit firearms at their locations an all forms is OK for arbitrary reasons.

        boycotts are easy when it doesn’t impact you, and empty gestures. either stand by your “no compromise” beliefs or be better understanding of others.

        • First, I said nothing about my own workplace.
          Second, yes I do see a difference. If I am an employer, I can even tell you what dress is acceptable. For whatabullsheet it is likely they dictate uniforms for employees but no dress code for customers. Duh. I highly doubt anyone would wear a fast food uniform if not being paid to do so.

          Hmm, even businesses open to the public place limitations on employee exercise of rights? Wow, must be that paycheck thing.
          Being on company time and such matters.

        • Paul G, you are devoid of being able to see your own hypocrisies. You state again it is ok for the employer to restrict employee rights but demand different of the customer. you see it as different, but the logic doesn’t hold up. you state,”If I am an employer, I can even tell you what dress is acceptable. For whatabullsheet it is likely they dictate uniforms for employees but no dress code for customers.” well, first, yes a business can under law dictate “dress code” for customers. second, you have a choice as either employee or customer. you choose to work there as an employee, or you choose to do business there as a customer. to take your hardline stance on “never surrendering a constitutional right” and “boycotting” establishments that require you do so in your mind, then to follow your own BS to it’s logical conclusion you have to demand no one works for these establishments either if demanding that no one patronize them.

          you are just caught in your own difficult position with the “boycott” bs when it comes home to you.. ie effects you, but will stand and “demand” anonymously on the internet that any infringement on your rights as you see them deserves only “boycott”, no room for discussion. please

        • Apparentl,y John, you are too caught up to realize the poor job of comprehension you are doing .
          I never said what a booger couldn’t ban guns for customers. Obviously they can.
          Much like mandatory dress, hygiene, even facial hair standards, employers imposing on employees is a universal concept. If you choose to exercise your freedom of movement and go shopping on company time, you will likely lose your job.
          If you are unable to understand the difference between employee and consuner, the problem is your own.

      • and i applaud you, if true, for actually standing by your convictions and not just preaching on the internet how so many do.

  45. Inform them that you are gay and that not providing you with a tasty burger and greasy fries is a hate crime punishable by hard labor in a cake factory/re-education camp. The gun is just there to ensure complete compliance.

  46. I actually respect this position. Its not an outright ban. Just cover your handgun up (assuming you are not in Texas!) and leave the rifle in the vehicle.

  47. While I disagree with the original article, the comments were pretty enjoyable to read.

    That said, if you disagreed with Whataburger, and said so here, your not done until you call or email Whataburger. Telling us you are pro second amendment is a waste, telling them gives them an opportunity to grow and learn.

  48. “Open carry might be normal for us gun owners, but for the average citizen it can be intimidating.”

    Gay marriage was intimidating too, but a legal right that must be fought for. Do not give up your constitutional rights because other might be afraid, or dislike it.

  49. It was absolutely unfair to Whataburger as it is for any business to be compelled to make a public statement about guns like this. Notice he uses the wording, “your group” in the full statement, of which the media has not carried. He’s careful and smart to not give that group any publicity.

    It should be obvious what group he’s referring to. While I support open carry and progress of all of our gun rights 110%, I support private property owners and business’s rights an equal 110%. If we can’t respect and protect all of our rights, we can’t support any.

    Open Carry Texas needs to be exposed for who they really are and shut down for good so they can’t continue doing the damage they have been to the efforts to move Texas’ rights forward. The media uses them for sensational stories elevating them to a place they aren’t worthy of being. They do not progress our rights, they get attention, good or bad. They should be completely ignored!

    • Open Carry Texas needs to be exposed for who they really are and shut down for good so they can’t continue doing the damage they have been to the efforts to move Texas’ rights forward.

      Are you sure your issue isn’t with Open Carry Tarrant County, rather than with Open Carry Texas?

      (I’ll leave it to someone else to argue about whether even OCTC is a problem to the degree you have described.)

  50. Years ago when I was a Marine reservist, after returning intact from Vietnam, I was the tank commander for a gunner who was a San Diego cop. AFter the McDonald’s Massacre in San Ysidro, I changed my mind about open carry or even concealed carry. A man went in there with 9 mm firearms and shot people, screaming, “I killed a thousand in ‘Nam and I’ll kill a thousand more.” He had been barred from enlisting due to mental problems, so, so much for his ‘Nam service. My gunner held an infant in one arm, trying to give it CPR while driving it to the hospital. It had been shot in the torso by the nut case. The mother had shoved it into the arms of a woman entering the Mc’s and then pushed her back out. AS first officer on the scene, the woman, a Hispanic, rushed up to him with the bloody infant. She could not speak English, so thinking she was the mother, he took her to the hospital, too. Another reason for insisting “Americans” in the United States learn the English language or forefeit citizenship. He said he wished he had been present when the nut case opened up (SD cops are required to carry at all times, even in civies.) because he would have taken action. Yes, open carriers make me nervous. Always have and always will, except for my fellow soldiers/Marines. If that is the law, then go with it. If it alienates customers, but all burger places allow it, what are they going to do? Oh, yeah, the good old drive-thru. Duh! Look for solutions; don’t get hung up on the perceived problem.

    • I’ve witnessed terrible car accidents, ons with multiple fatalities, lost friends in similar accidents, and on motorcycles. Even was seriously injured when I was hit while on a cycle…but that didn’t make me think people should give up cars or motorcycles.

      • Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

        • So all those uniformed LEO’s need to be institutionalized?
          You definitely are not a less Ron, you are the “more” Ron style, for sure.

        • We have a special dinner jacket for you, Ron. You need to wear it before boarding the short bus over there. 😀 You intolerant bigot, you. 🙁

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon express an opinion ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon wear a cross ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon wear a yarmulke ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon wear a turban ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon wear a kirpan ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon wear a burqa ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon appear homosexual ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Good for you Whataburger, any moron who thinks it is ok to openly carry a weapon appear atheist ANYWHERE in public needs to check himself into a mental institute.

          Etcetera

        • @John in Ohio

          Thank you for comparing apples to apples, harmless behaviors to harmless behaviors.

  51. Scary to know some of these people have firearms. Having a firearm does not mean everybody has to let you in, or does it? They have to let you in, you’ve got the firearm, right? Starting to sound like a bunch of hoods.

    • Scary to know some of these people are gay. being a gay does not mean everybody has to let you in, or does it? They have to let you in, you’re gay, right? Starting to sound like a bunch of hoods.

      this is what the gays said before they started suing grandmas at bakeries and forcing them to close shop. like gays rights..gun owners have rights to. the difference is gun owners are not as boisterous as gays.

        • lol. exactly. this isn’t necessarily a rant towards gays,.. but don’t tell gays that..they are spreading the word now that they can rear children better than straight couples . they base it off the fact that they choose to adopt rather than straight couples who have children by accident supposedly. which they claim over 50 % of the births from straight marriage is an accident. but then they don’t even compare themselves to straight couples who foster and adopt as well. see…………it never stops. they say they want an inch……………….and then they steal a mile. the liberal left is and always will be bitter because they are not society’s normal and know it.. they claim they are,..but it is false. and the thing is. i don’t really have anything against gays…but i would like the opportunity as a person who exercises his constitutional rights to have the same respect reciprocated back as well. why am i restricted and demonized by band wagon jumpers,.but they are not.? if it was about equality……then the same rules would apply evenly to every ones rights. not just the ones a person picks and chooses.

  52. If the open carry obsessed plan on boycotting all Texas businesses that say no to open carry, they’re in for a rude awakening come January 1 because a significant number of businesses will either have 30.07 signs posted, or simply use the more discreet option of verbal notice.

    Either way, the inflexible open carry obsessed minority of Texas Hand License holders expecting to impose their open carry obsession on everyone else by threatening to take their business elsewhere will have little or no effect on the bottom line of Whataburger or any establishment that allows concealed carry, but not open carry.

  53. i am amazed that i am commentor 147 on this thread. i think i’ll go make some burgers. whatabuncha.

  54. The OC nutjobs were warned about this. When stores start seeing folks get upset by OC wingnuts, they’ll vote with their pocketbook and go elsewhere. So the store will put up the 30.07 sign, banning them. Some stores are already talking about both 30.06 and 30.07, just to be safe. So, in Oct 1991, Suzanna Hupp had to watch her parents get executed by a crazed lunatic because Texas law said you can’t have gun on you. 20 years of CHL law, and no problems, all’s great. But no, the OC loons screamed for it now, were’ right back to 1991. Good job morons. Now people are just as disarmed as Hupp was that day in Luby’s, you’ve erase 20 years of good law just go you could play cowboy and ‘whip dis sucker out!’ Spoiler Alert: No is impressed by you Rambo wannabe’s, and all you’ve done is made law abiding gun owners more unsafe. Brilliant.

  55. I feel safe with open carry..knowing that there is people who can do harm…im protected…to me its the same as being concealed…I can sit down and feel safe with my family and eat… you all really need to remove your signs…or I will eat somewhere else…I hope other people follow…its my right to open carry..look what to luby’s…some have closed and have been..sued…

    • here in texas everybody has a gun almost everybody is concealed…they don’t like it..then shut her down…alice texas needs to remove their sign

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