Chipotle’s New “No Gun” Policy – Good or Bad News for Gun Owners?

A recent USA Today article says that “Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun-rights advocates brought assault-style weapons into a downtown Dallas store during the weekend.”

Chipotle is a USA-based restaurant that offers Mexican-style fast food, and it has numerous stores in several states. The statement followed a so-called “armed lunch” at a Chipotle in Dallas, Texas, where gun rights advocates gathered with rifles and shotguns of various types, including “black rifles” such as semi-automatic versions of the AK-47 and AR-15, which many (including Chipotle) erroneously refer to as “assault rifles.”

Prior to this, Chipotle had made a point of simply following whatever local laws were in effect.

The gathering of gun owners was apparently uneventful, but it made some customers uncomfortable. For that reason, Chipotle has asked that guns stay outside of their doors, and they are well within their rights to do so.

Naturally, staunch supporters of gun rights have varied opinions of this decision, but the knee-jerk reaction is to boycott Chipotle. Meanwhile, those opposed to private gun ownership plan to flock to the restaurant.

Me, I’m right where I was before: I don’t much care (although I would have preferred it if they’d specified that lawful concealed carry was fine and dandy).

You see, this is not a serious gun rights issue to me. If I want to go into a Chipotle with a concealed firearm, I will do so, and nobody will know–unless I have to use my firearm to defend myself. That is as it should be.

To my mind, this setback in “gun owners’ public relations” was caused by a group of people who took it upon themselves to force the issue by gathering en masse with their mean-looking guns in plain sight. They really should have seen this coming; after all, similar events at Starbucks last year led to that company politely asking gun owners not to bring guns into their stores.

I strongly support all civil rights, especially gun ownership, which is the only right which can be used to effectively defend other rights. But in that vein, we as gun owners must always respect others’ rights, and that includes respecting the right to not be faced with groups of gun-toters when they go to lunch.

I don’t agree with “in your face” gun use of that nature. Most gun owners believe in something like this: Leave me alone and don’t force your lifestyle on me.

Let’s grant others that same consideration. That will go much farther towards helping gun ownership than any “armed lunch” ever could.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.