Levi's CEO: Please do not bring firearms into our stores

London - Levi's has shared its position on gun rights and gun control as CEO and president Chip Bergh asks customers not to bring any firearms into its store.

Entering the debate on gun safety in the US, Bergh posted an open letter to customers on LinkedIn on Wednesday asking that they refrain from bringing guns into Levi's stores, offices or any of its facilities, even in states where is it permitted by law. An exception will be made for authorized members of law enforcements.

In his letter, Bergh mentions a recent incident in one of Levi's stores when a gun accidently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it. "With stores in Paris, Nice and Orlando, and the company’s European headquarters in Brussels, I’ve thought more about safety in the past year than in the previous three decades of my career because of how ‘close to home’ so many incidents with guns have come to impacting people working for this company," wrote Bergh in the letter.

Bergh makes it clear in his letter that he respects gun rights in the US, but does not consider a clothing store or office the appropriate place to carry a firearm. He stresses that he is not banning guns, as a ban "could potentially undermine the purpose of the ban itself: safety," but is asking customers to leave their guns at home when shopping.

"It boils down to this: you shouldn’t have to be concerned about your safety while shopping for clothes or trying on a pair of jeans," the letter concludes. "Simply put, firearms don’t belong in either of those settings." Levi's is not the first retailer to ask customers to refrain from bringing guns into stores. In 2013 Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz asked customers not to bring guns into its coffee shops. Target, Sonic and Chili's have also asked customer leave their firearms at home.

Photo: Levi's