The above memo was sent out to Starbucks in the United States recently.

An Associated press report confirms its authenticity.

According to the statement, Starbucks no longer welcomes guns in its stores.

The coffee chain giant has been extremely neutral on the subject recently. Previously the policy was to allow open and concealed carry where allowed by law.

According to the memo, customers carrying guns will not be asked to leave, but the corporation wants to make it known that weapons are no longer welcomed in its establishments.

Starbucks has recently been the recipient of several “Starbucks Appreciation Days” staged by gun owners to show their appreciation for the neutral policy employed by the coffee chain.

According to an open letter by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz,

Recently, however, we’ve seen the “open carry” debate become increasingly uncivil and, in some cases, even threatening. Pro-gun activists have used our stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called “Starbucks Appreciation Days” that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of “open carry.” To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores. Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners.

For these reasons, today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where “open carry” is permitted—unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.

I would like to clarify two points. First, this is a request and not an outright ban. Why? Because we want to give responsible gun owners the chance to respect our request—and also because enforcing a ban would potentially require our partners to confront armed customers, and that is not a role I am comfortable asking Starbucks partners to take on. Second, we know we cannot satisfy everyone. For those who oppose “open carry,” we believe the legislative and policy-making process is the proper arena for this debate, not our stores. For those who champion “open carry,” please respect that Starbucks stores are places where everyone should feel relaxed and comfortable. The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers.

Anti-gun groups, such as Moms Demand Action, have called for boycotts of the corporation until they take action to ban guns in their shops.

While not outright banning guns, the public statements and memo issued by Starbucks seems to point to the coffee giant taking sides of anti-gun advocates in the debate