Late last month, the National Gun Victims Action Council (NGAC) announced a boycott of Starbucks starting Valentine's Day, stating that the company's policy of allowing “guns and assault weapons to be openly carried in its stores (in 43 states) and concealed and carried in its stores (in 49 states)” was unacceptable. In response, prominent gun bloggers and activists called for a Starbucks “appreciation day” - a decision that now seems to causing them some blowback.

Nearly two years ago, Starbucks turned down a request from gun violence prevention advocates to join Peet's Coffee, California Pizza Kitchen, IKEA, and other chains and exercise their right to refuse to allow individuals carrying firearms in in their stores. In the latest action seeking to convince the corporation to shift its position, NGAC urged a boycott, with its CEO Elliot Fineman stating that “Starbucks allowing guns to be carried in thousands of their stores significantly increases everyone's risk of being a victim of gun violence” and that the company's “steadfast support of the NRA's lethal pro-gun agenda damages its 'socially conscious company' brand.”

Immediately after the NGAV issued its release, prominent gun blogger Sebastian wrote that in response he was “going to declare February 14th Starbucks Appreciation Day, by encouraging gun owners to head to Starbucks to buy some of their fine coffee and pastry products.” According to the Los Angeles Times, there were reports of such “buycotts” in several states, including Washington, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Michigan.

But yesterday, Sebastian took to his blog with a slightly different message: stop appreciating Starbucks:

I notice there's still quite a lot of pictures of guns and coffee appearing on Starbucks' Facebook page. I would like to note that Starbucks never asked for their brand to be associated with gun rights; all they want to do is sell coffee. ... By all means, let's keep the gratitude pouring into corporate, and pouring into their coffers, but I think we ought to let Starbucks' brand go back to just being about great coffee. That means not engaging in, what in a person-to-person analogy would be walking up to the barista, and continuing to stick pro-gun stickers all over her, and handing her guns. She didn't ask for that. She just wants to serve you coffee.

The blogger added that gun advocates should stop turning Starbucks' facebook page “into a battleground.”

Sebastian refers to the fact that large portions of the company's page now look like this:

Apparently even he realizes that most Americans prefer that businesses have a “no guns” policy, and that this type of action could backfire.