Levi's CEO: Don't bring guns into our stores
SAN FRANCISCO - The CEO of Levi’s is asking customers and employees not to bring guns into its stores, offices or facilities, even in states where it’s legal.
Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh wrote Wednesday in an open letter posted on LinkedIn that a customer was injured in a Levi’s store recently after the customer’s own gun inadvertently went off. He said Levi’s isn’t banning guns, just requesting people not bring them into its places of business.
“We know that the presence of firearms in our stores creates an unsettling environment for many of our employees and customers,” said Bergh, noting that he is a former army officer. “We also know that trying to enforce a ban could potentially undermine the purpose of the ban itself: safety.”
He added that consumers shouldn’t have to be concerned about their safety while shopping for clothes, saying that “firearms don’t belong” in stores.
Responding to Bergh’s letter, some commenters took issue with Levi’s new policy, which Bergh described as a “request” rather than a mandate.
“You have, though, made it a lot easier for terrorists to recognize Levi stores as a soft target. Nice going,” one person wrote on LinkedIn.
“My safety depends on my lawful carry of a firearm,” another said.
