Ride-sharing service Uber has made the decision to ban firearms for both drivers and passengers, a move that is causing a immediate and significant backlash.
Ride-hailing company Uber has changed its policy to prohibit drivers and passengers from carrying guns in cars for trips arranged using its digital service.
Uber’s updated legal page on its website includes a policy prohibiting “firearms of any kind in a vehicle” operated by an Uber driver, with violators potentially losing access to the app.
“We have adopted a no-firearms policy to ensure that both riders and drivers feel safe and comfortable on the platform,” Uber’s Matt McKenna said in a statement to the New Republic, which first reported the change in policy.
“We made this policy change after assessing existing policies and carefully reviewing recent feedback from both riders and driver-partners,” McKenna added.
Uber made the change June 10, according to the Associated Press. It previously required its drivers to abide by local, state and federal laws regarding firearms being transported in cars.
The decision comes less than two months after an Uber driver in Chicago was hailed as a hero for using aimed fire from his licensed concealed weapon to drop a 22-year-criminal who was firing into a crowd.
It seems that the San Francisco-based company would rather that their drivers and passengers be helpless victims than be lawfully-armed, which was allowed under their previous policy.
The company’s decision to turn its service into “mobile gun free zones” has not been well-received by many.
: @thehill So Uber goes gun free which would make cars mobile gun free zones. That always works out for the criminals.”@GottliebShow
— Reed Robertson (@ReedRobertson) June 20, 2015
Uhm. @Uber… I am licensed to carry a gun. I am often out late and use your service OFTEN. No gun to protect myself? You’re kidding right? — Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) June 20, 2015
Looks like we won’t be using Uber anymore. https://t.co/8EuJsLWhhk
— Krystle (@TarheelKrystle) June 20, 2015
It remains to be seen if the decision will impact Uber’s bottom line.
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