Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz sent a letter “respectfully requesting customers” to refrain from bringing guns into the stores. He had been associated with the ‘open carry’ laws wherever they are legal allowing customers to display guns in public. Now Starbucks follows Peets Coffee & Tea, California Pizza Kitchens and Buffalo Wild Wings in not allowing the display of guns. The Moms Demands Action Group which had been pressuring Starbucks hailed the move saying the coffee chain example will help send gun-totting the way of smoking in airplanes or unprosecuted drunk driving. While six states prohibit the open-carrying of guns in public places, some states encourage it, and 32 allow open carrying without a permit. On Thursday at the Langtry Café in Browsdale, Minn, for instance, there’s a 25% discount if you do. For those of us who favor limits on guns and who realize how very far we have to go, Howard Schultz’s letter is a first step–small yes, but as all first steps putting us on the right road.