Subway Must Act

The below letter was signed by thousands of community members in response to disturbing reports of heavily armed customers visiting a Subway in North Carolina.

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TO: John Chidsey, Subway CEO

In light of news reports showing disturbing photos of heavily armed protesters patronizing a Subway restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina carrying an AT4 rocket launcher, multiple pistols, and shotguns, we are calling on you to keep your employees and customers safe from the threat of gun violence by prohibiting people from openly carrying weapons in your restaurants.

Research has consistently found that the presence of a visible firearm makes people more aggressive, transforming mere disagreements into violent, and potentially deadly, confrontations. Unfortunately, Subway is no stranger to gun violence. According to analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive, Subway has experienced at least 65 incidents of gun violence in or near its restaurants nationwide since 2014, resulting in 21 deaths and 28 injuries.

In fact, in late March of 2020, an individual fired his gun at a police officer near a Subway restaurant in Carencro, Louisiana and told police he was infected with the Coronavirus.

Many prominent American businesses, including Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans, and others, have established clear policies that ask individuals to leave their guns at home. And Subway, a company that prides itself on “provid[ing] workers with a safe and healthy work environment” and publicly proclaims that, “We are committed to supporting our community, being responsible partners, and giving back,” must follow suit.

At a time of great economic upheaval, stress, and uncertainty, our nation has experienced a spike in gun sales and corresponding increases in every-day gun violence, suicides, and domestic incident reports. Your restaurant must play its part in keeping Americans safe as we work to rebuild our lives and begin to patronize your businesses.

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