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 #109188  by David
 
“An Open Letter to Customers: Our Weapons Policy”
November 30, 2016

Dear Customers,

The debate in the U.S. over gun safety and gun rights is as complex as it is divisive. As a former army officer, a father and business leader, I’ve heard the arguments from all sides. And, as CEO of a 163-year-old company whose products and presence rest at the intersection of culture and community in more than 110 countries around the world, I feel a tremendous responsibility to share our position on the issue, now, at a time when clarity is paramount.

Providing a safe environment to work and shop is a top priority for us at Levi Strauss & Co. That imperative is quickly challenged, however, when a weapon is carried into one of our stores. Recently, we had an incident in one of our stores where a gun inadvertently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it.

So, while we understand the heartfelt and strongly-held opinions on both sides of the gun debate, it is with the safety and security of our employees and customers in mind that we respectfully ask people not to bring firearms into our stores, offices or facilities, even in states where it’s permitted by law. Of course, authorized members of law enforcement are an exception.

With stores in Paris, Nice and Orlando, and the company’s European headquarters in Brussels, I’ve thought more about safety in the past year than in the previous three decades of my career because of how ‘close to home’ so many incidents with guns have come to impacting people working for this company.

We operate in hundreds of stores across every state in the U.S., and laws are different in each one. We know that the presence of firearms in our stores creates an unsettling environment for many of our employees and customers. We also know that trying to enforce a ban could potentially undermine the purpose of the ban itself: safety. With that in mind we’ve made this decision as a business – a request not a mandate – and we sincerely hope responsible gun owners will respect our position.

It boils down to this: you shouldn’t have to be concerned about your safety while shopping for clothes or trying on a pair of jeans. Simply put, firearms don’t belong in either of those settings. In the end, I believe we have an obligation to our employees and customers to ensure a safe environment and keeping firearms out of our stores and offices will get us one step closer to achieving that reality.

Sincerely,

Chip Bergh
President and Chief Executive Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.”
 #109192  by dave_in_delaware
 
Recently, we had an incident in one of our stores where a gun inadvertently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it.
Well there you go. There's the reason behind the ban. Thanks to a negligent gun owner, this business now bans guns.
It boils down to this: you shouldn’t have to be concerned about your safety while shopping for clothes or trying on a pair of jeans. Simply put, firearms don’t belong in either of those settings.
Uh, yes you should, Chip. Firearms belong anywhere where there's a threat of crime happening. Your stores included.

At least now I know to never shop at a Levi store.
 #109194  by David
 
To clarify what I'm reading, this is a request not a ban. They are hoping for compliance, not enforcing it. Although that will probably add several layers of confusion among store staff.
 #109195  by Boots
 
David wrote:To clarify what I'm reading, this is a request not a ban. ....
We know for sure the bad guys, who are also "gun owners", won't comply. So really, what's out best course of action?! :roll:
 #109196  by David
 
Boots wrote:We know for sure the bad guys, who are also "gun owners", won't comply. So really, what's out best course of action?! :roll:
Well I guess that's a personal decision each has to make. Its like deciding to shop at Amazon, Dick's, Starbucks, etc. Everyone has to set their tolerance level.
 #109202  by Kuntryboy816
 
dave_in_delaware wrote:
Recently, we had an incident in one of our stores where a gun inadvertently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it.
Well there you go. There's the reason behind the ban. Thanks to a negligent gun owner, this business now bans guns.
While this incident shines a negative light on all those who choose to carry, we need to also show a little understanding as well. People are human, we're not perfect and accidents do happen. Accidents are neither planned nor expected (unless some idiot is planning some Ins fraud) and they happen to everyone.

Example: If we were a Nike wearing group, would we criticize another person who was wearing them and tripped over his own feet and broke his leg? Is he negligent or irresponsible? I'm sure he did everything in his power to NOT have that accident. Are Nike's now controversial and must be banned because they're not safe and potentially life threatening?

Sure, this is a facetious comparison but there's a point that I'm trying to make. As responsible gun owners/carriers, we do everything we can to try and prevent the likelihood of accidents from happening.... but they will still happen. How can we chastize someone else for being involved in an accident? I don't know the details of the whole Levi's store incident but I'm pretty sure that the person wasn't in the middle of a pistol slinging, gun twirling Doc Holliday display of tossing his handgun up in the air and non-chalantly sticking out his hip to let the pistol fall perfectly into his holster all while efficiently rolling and lighting his cigarette.
:lol:
 #109211  by Boots
 
Very few unintended firearm discharges could be determined to be "accidental," they are "negligent" discharges.

The details of the incident in the Levi's store are missing. However, I'm sure that one or more basic safety rules were violated, resulting in a negligent discharge, not an "accidental" discharge.

My EDC will NOT discharge even if it were dropped. It resides securely in my holster with the trigger covered and will NOT leave that secure place until I am forced to take action and put it to use.
Kuntryboy816 wrote:As responsible gun owners/carriers, we do everything we can to try and prevent the likelihood of accidents from happening.... but they will still happen.
To say that accidents "happen to everyone" may be true in the general sense, but to apply that to the carrying of a deadly weapon and assume it's almost inevitable is a bridge too far.

I have yet to learn of an "accidental" discharge that was not the result of an unsafe firearm, unsafe handling, or a violation of one or more of the basic safety rules.
 #109212  by GatorDude
 
I have to agree with Boots that there are negligent discharges and not accidental discharges. The only accidental discharge I could possibly think of is that someone's trigger finger twitched while the firearm was being aimed at a bad guy (justifiably) due to an unforeseen medical issue thus discharging said firearm.

As for the Levi's thing, it was indeed a request and not a policy, etc. He can make all the requests he wants. Although I don't buy Levi's, I don't think I would boycott because of the request.