Bravo to Harris-Teeter, a great grocery store, and a great American company…..

The Charlotte Observer

By Fred Clasen-Kelly

An advocacy group staged a protest at Harris Teeter in the Myers Park neighborhood Saturday, demanding that the grocery chain stop customers from openly carrying guns in its stores.

Members of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America chopped up their customer loyalty cards and told a store manager they would not shop at Harris Teeter unless the policy is changed.

“We’ll come back if the store is safe,” one protester said.

The seven miserable looking protesters, somehow, rated a big story from the Charlotte Observer–which will apparently also be covering tiny pick-up basketball games as huge events, in the future,  if this story is any indication…..BLS

The group has been lobbying Cincinnati-based Kroger, which bought Harris Teeter last year, to ban openly carried guns in stores even in states such as North Carolina where “open carry” is legal. Members have recently seen success persuading well-known chains, including Target and Starbucks, to ask customers to leave firearms outside their doors.

But Harris Teeter said it won’t change its policies, which allow open carry in states where it’s legal. Harris Teeter operates about 200 stores in eight states, but most are in North Carolina.

Gun owners in the state can openly carry firearms in most public places. A permit is required to carry a concealed gun.

“We have and will continue to adhere to the firearms and concealed handgun laws as outlined by the states in which we do business,” Harris Teeter spokeswoman Danna Jones said in an email. “We believe this issue is best handled by lawmakers, not retailers.”