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 . . .