I have been mulling this over for several days now. Thinking it through. I eat at whataburger, more often than I really should. I also have a CHL.
I have read a lot of opinions in this thread about property rights and CEOs being pro-RKBA, insurance, and so on. What I haven't seen is a critical bit of context that maybe someone can provide.
Was this policy announced because of ongoing issues with open carry in Whataburger restaurants? Meaning are they having problems with people open carrying today and causing discomfort amongst their other patrons and employees?
Or was this announcement made in the context of the newly passed licences open carry law in Texas, and intended to proactively address a perceived future issue?
I don't have much to say if it is the first case. Well, except that I have never personally seen OC in a Whataburger. But to me it is like banning smoking (in areas that don't have laws). If I ran a restaurant I'd ban smoking for business reasons.
If it is the later case, though, all the talk about customer comfort and protecting their revenue falls to the floor and we are left with one word to describe the situation: prejudice. Wrap it up in as many "I have a ______ friend, heck I'm basically one of you" platitudes as you like, it is still prejudice.
So which is it? Saying they have banned open carry all along doesn't really help me because A) it wasn't a posted policy so I can't verify that claim, and B) the type of open carry (handgun) being discussed was illegal in their primary market and asking people to leave when they do something illegal is different than asking them to leave for something legal.
What would we say about this:
"There’s been a lot of talk the past couple weeks about Whawaburger’s religious dress policy, and I wanted to reach out to personally explain our position.
"Whawaburger supports customers’ First Amendment rights and we respect your group’s position, but we haven’t allowed the wearing of burqas in our restaurants for a long time (although we have not prohibited Muslims in western dress). It’s a business decision we made a long time ago and have stood by, and I think it’s important you know why.
"But first, as a representative of Whawaburger, I want you to know we proudly serve the religious rights community. I personally enjoy religious beliefs and also worship regularly, as do others at Whawaburger.
"From a business standpoint, though, we have to think about how Muslim behavior impacts our 34,000+ employees and millions of customers. We serve customers from all walks of life at more than 780 locations, 24 hours a day, in 10 states and we’re known for a family friendly atmosphere that customers have come to expect from us. We’re the gathering spot for Little League teams, church groups and high school kids after football games.
"We’ve had many customers and employees tell us they’re uncomfortable being around someone wearing traditional Muslim clothing, and as a business, we have to listen and value that feedback in the same way we value yours. We have a responsibility to make sure everyone who walks into our restaurants feels comfortable. For that reason, we don’t restrict Muslim beliefs but do ask customers not to wear traditional Muslim clothes. Or look like they are of Arabic descent - our customers are uncomfortable about that too.
"As a company serving customers with many different viewpoints, we’re sometimes caught in the middle on controversial issues like this one. We hope you and your members, along with our other friends in the religious rights community, understand our position and will continue to visit us. We appreciate your business. Thank you."
I'm not a Muslim but I would stop doing business with anyone who posted a statement like that because it is clearly a product of prejudice. I think Whataburger's statement on Open Carry may be the same.....