Moms to Kroger: Time to ban open carry of guns

Cincinnati resident Michele Mueller is the Ohio chapter leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

In the last two years, Kroger-owned stores nationwide have been the sites of at least 16 shootings and demonstrations by gun extremists carrying firearms. As a mom and grandmother who regularly brings her grandkids with her to shop for groceries at Kroger, it’s time for a change.

On Monday, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America announced a campaign to stop the violence at Kroger. Moms are asking the grocery chain to prohibit the open carry of firearms at its stores across the country. This policy change would show that Kroger executives put customer safety first and listen to their shoppers.

I am not about to put my grandchildren in a situation where they could be confronted by dangerous people with firearms while we’re picking out cereals. I make decisions every day based on how my family is impacted, and I have decided to only spend our hard-earned money with businesses that are good corporate actors – and that have gun sense.

In recent months, numerous national businesses have changed their gun policy as a result of campaigns from Moms Demand Action, an organization made up of moms like me, including many gun owners, in all 50 states. Starbucks, Target and Chipotle are just a few that have announced guns are no longer welcome in their stores. These victories show that American businesses are beginning to understand that customers expect them to take seriously the safety and comfort of their customers and workers. Kroger should follow suit immediately.

In the days and months following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I began to read up on gun laws and was shocked by what I learned. I had assumed that the vast majority of guns were purchased with a background check and that those who carried guns in public had some sort of license to do so. I could not have been more wrong.

About 40 percent of gun sales – millions each year – occur with no background check required under federal law. Additionally, the majority of states, including Ohio, allow people to openly carry loaded guns in public with absolutely no training, permitting, or minimum age requirement. If my grandkids and I see a man with a rifle in the aisle at Kroger, I know it’s very possible that he got that gun without any sort of criminal background check.

My No. 1 responsibility as a mom and grandma is to keep my family safe. Some will say that our priority should be fixing the background check system rather than asking Kroger to change its policies. As a leader with Moms Demand Action in Ohio, I will do everything in my power to fight for universal background checks. But as we continue to demand more of our political leaders, we also have to demand more of the businesses where we shop with our families.

In July, an argument erupted outside of a Kroger-owned Arizona grocery store, leaving one 20-year-old shot and injured. In June, a murder-suicide took place in the parking lot of a Georgia Kroger. In April, a Kroger employee in Louisville was shot and wounded after he confronted three customers who left the store without paying.

Gun-rights demonstrators have carried weapons in Kroger stores in Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, North Carolina and West Virginia in recent months. As the law stands now, it is impossible to know if the man with the assault rifle buying bread is a responsible gun owner or someone who might cause harm. How are Kroger employees, law enforcement or customers supposed to tell the difference between gun extremists making a statement and someone who puts our lives at risk? Right now, the answer is that we just can’t.

We can’t wait for politicians in Washington to take action. Kroger has to act now to protect the safety of those who work and shop in their stores.