NORFOLK, Va. — The Public House has sparked a conversation on social media, after the restaurant announced it was donating a portion of proceeds from Wednesday's evening sales to Moms Demanding Action, a group that advocates for gun reform and gun violence prevention.
"Our mission is to spread awareness about gun violence prevention," said Marian Kiehl-Kearney, a leader of the Hampton Roads chapter. "It means a tremendous amount when small business owners with deep roots in our community step forward and say 'We support you and we support the cause of gun violence prevention.'"
That good deed, though, came with criticism from some.
One customer wrote on The Public House's Facebook page, "Goodbye forever."
Another wrote, "Sorry, I do not financially support businesses that work to take away my Constitutional right to bear arms."
Joining them in that is the Virginia Citizens Defense League, who in a statement from President Philip Van Cleave, said:
"Businesses tend to stand neutral on political issues, especially an issue that negatively affects a civil [sic] right because businesses know they are going to lose a certain percentage of their customers if they don't. In this case, gun owners are going to be a lot less likely to be customers of Public House because Public House is funding a gun-control organization, which is actively working to restrict the right of self-defense."
"We are a completely non-partisan group of volunteers. We're made up of gun owners and non-gun owners so we understand and respect the power that a firearm brings to the table," said Kiehl-Kearney.
The Public House said it raised $2,100 on Wednesday night and will continue taking donations through Sunday.