Open Carry: Vienna Patch Readers on the Coffee Shop Gun Situation

Over the weekend, Patch ran a piece asking readers for comments on a coffee shop situation in Reston.

Within 36 hours of publication, the Patch post had received more than 400 comments.

The original situation was detailed in a blog post on Reston Patch—a man walked into a coffee shop with an openly-carried gun, and some women who frequent the coffee shop were uncomfortable with the way the man conducted himself.

• You can read that blog post here: What do you do when you run into a man with a gun?

Vienna Patch readers weighed in and here, we’re rounding up some of their comments. What do you think about what your Vienna neighbors are saying? Comment below, or head back to the original post from Sunday and add to the discussion going there.

A reader named Joe said: “Anytime you open carry a firearm, you draw extra attention to yourself. Thus one should be mindful of their actions so as to not be misinterpreted.”

Susan wrote: “Guns make me uncomfortable. There may be places in our country where people feel as though they need to defend themselves when going to a coffee shop. I can't imagine that someone who isn't paranoid would feel that way in Reston ....”

A reader who went by K.I.R wrote:“For many years, it was legal to smoke in restaurants in Virginia, but certain chose to ban it. I would assume the same property rights would allow restaurants to ban guns. That would definitely be a social movement I would support with my purchasing power.”

What do you think, Vienna? 

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