Responsible Citizens of California Reviews The Facts Regarding Open Carry With BJ's Restaurants

December 14, 2011

Dear Bj’s Restaurants Executives and Store Management:

My name is Yih-Chau Chang.  I am the Press Secretary for the Responsible Citizens of California, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate the public on the truth regarding gun ownership by common, law-abiding citizens.  Our organization serves as a counterbalance to the gun control lobby by stating the facts surrounding responsible gun ownership by providing evidence sourced from federal and State government reports, peer-reviewed academic research studies, international government-sourced data, and real-life local news stories.

The Responsible Citizens of California have recently been made aware that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence may have petitioned your company to ban the practice of Open Carry on your company premises.  While we will respect any decision you make on this matter, we would like to provide you with some information regarding the Open Carry Movement in California to help supply you with facts that might help you to reach a more informed decision on this issue.

Even over the course of decades where this Open Carry law has been in effect in California, there has never been one single instance of a violent crime being committed by someone who decided to exercise his/her right in this regard.  Over the past two years, when the Open Carry Movement became a high- profile issue in the press, there were still clearly no violent incidents despite the fact that there were multiple prominent Open Carry events occurring up and down the State every single week.  Much to the chagrin of the Brady Campaign, their subjectively-biased, emotion-based assertions that common, law-abiding gun owners who choose to carry their side arms holstered in a public setting were a threat to society turned out to be completely false.

On the contrary, a number of private businesses that supported the Open Carry Movement have benefitted greatly from being associated with supporting every Californian’s 2nd Amendment Rights both in financial terms and also through enhanced media exposure.  You may remember that Starbucks was one such company that found itself as the center of attention when it decided that the Brady Campaign’s request to ban Open Carry in their stores was flatly turned down.  As a result, Starbucks benefitted greatly from this increased foot traffic and media exposure, especially in these tough economic realities that we face today.  Here are their full-year financial results to illustrate my point:

Full-Year 2010 Highlights:

• Total net revenues increased 9.5% to $10.7 billion
• Comparable store sales increased 7%, driven by a 4% increase in traffic and a 3% increase in average ticket
• U.S. comparable store sales increased 7%, driven by a 3% increase in traffic and a 4% increase in average ticket
• International comparable store sales increased 6%, driven by a 5% increase in traffic and a 1% increase in average ticket
• Consolidated operating margin improved 760 basis points to 13.3%; Non-GAAP operating margin increased 460 basis points to 13.8%
• U.S. operating margin increased 960 basis points to 17.1%; U.S. Non-GAAP operating margin increased 640 basis points to 17.4%
• International operating margin more than doubled to 9.8% in FY10; International Non-GAAP operating margin increased 480 basis points to 11.0%
• EPS increased 138% to $1.24 in FY10 from $0.52 in FY09; Non-GAAP EPS increased 60% to $1.28 from $0.80 in FY09
• Operating cash flow totaled $1.7 billion; Free cash flow exceeded $1.2 billion
• Starbucks returned approximately $460 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends

You can verify these facts for yourself by clicking on the link found here:

http://news.starbucks.com/news/earnings.htm

Other than Starbucks, members of the Open Carry Movement are welcomed at local Jamba Juice, Extreme Pizza, Hometown Buffet, and many other chain-based establishments statewide.  These well-known businesses have all benefitted from patrons from the Open Carry Movement.

Conversely, prominent chain establishments such as California Pizza Kitchen have suffered financially, even as they back the Brady Campaign’s attempts to ban Open Carry on their company premises.  Seekingalpha.com reports on the state of California Pizza Kitchen’s Wall Street financials here,

“California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPKI), a leading casual dining restaurant chain, is slated to release its third quarter 2010 results on Thursday, November 11, after market close. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is 19 cents, representing an annualized negative growth of 22.1%.”

Again, you can verify these facts for yourself by clicking on the link found here:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/236118-california-pizza-kitchen-ear...

As anyone can clearly tell for themselves, banning common, law-abiding gun owners from exercising their 2nd Amendment Rights can clearly cost any company in a big way, especially during these dire economic times.

Despite the fact that the Brady Campaign-sponsored anti-Open Carry Bill, AB 1934, was defeated in the California State Legislature this year, the organization still refuses to concede that Open Carry represents the will of the people here in California and that it poses no threat whatsoever to public safety and actually actively decreases the incidents of violent crime in society at large.

Thank you for your time in considering this matter for Nation’s Hamburgers.  Many of us here in the Open Carry Movement love the food that is prepared with so much care and the quality of all of your establishments are clearly apparent the moment anyone walks in.  Personally, I have a weakness for your chili fries and would love the opportunity to enjoy them while exercising my 2nd Amendment Right to Open Carry a properly holstered, unloaded sidearm while patronizing your many establishments.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Yih-Chau Chang

Press Secretary

Responsible Citizens of California

(408) XXX-XXXX

www.responsiblecitizensofcalifornia.org