Why do I think...

...it's just plain odd to bring a gun with you to your local Starbucks? Is there something wrong with me?*

That's Matt Bottali, above, a gun owner participating in yesterday's Starbucks Appreciation Day in Connecticut. (He looks fairly normal, doesn't he?) According to an article in the print edition of the Times today:

Bottali planned to show up with half a dozen armed friends at his local Starbucks in a national effort by gun owners to show their appreciation for Starbucks' policy, which allows customers to carry weapons into their stores in states where it is legal. Companies have the option of banning weapons if they choose.

"Come down, meet me and my friends," Mr. Bottali wrote on his Facebook page. "I guarantee there will not be a safer public place in all of CT."

There was only one problem with Mr. Bottali's plan. The Starbucks in question was located in Newtown, Connecticut, the home of Sandy Hook Elementary School. Apparently, the owners thought Mr. Bottali's plan was in terrible taste and decided to close five hours earlier than usual.

Score one for good taste -- and sanity!

But back to Mr. Bottali. How on earth could he think that a Starbucks with a bunch of people carrying guns could possibly be the safest public place in all of Connecticut? If you walked into a store and noticed that many of its patrons were armed wouldn't you get the heck out of there in a hurry? Or would you think to yourself, "Hey, this is the safest place I could be right now!"

The article also says that Mr. Bottali "regularly carried his Smith & Wesson pistol to coffee shops." Really? Is that necessary?

I have to ask, once again, what is wrong with me? I've been to countless Starbucks in I don't know how many states and haven't once thought, "Gee, I sure wish I had a gun right now. The crowd in here is really threatening! Why, just look at that young girl behind the counter with all those tattoos and pierced flesh."

Is it me, or is Mr. Bottali just a little kooky?
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* Don't answer that!