The antigay National Organization for Marriage is boycotting Starbucks because they believe the coffee chain took “sides in a culture war” by supporting same-sex marriage in Washington State.
NOM officials apparently queried Starbucks boardmembers at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday in Seattle, site of Starbucks’s headquarters. Apparently, Starbucks board members voiced support for marriage equality in Washington—which passed legislatively in February and goes into effect on June.
“We respect the important role of businesses in providing goods, services and jobs, and that people of diverse moral views build great companies working together,” NOM president Brian Brown wrote in a statement. “But Starbucks has corporately, as an organization, endorsed and helped pass gay marriage in the state of Washington. Its executive vice president of partner resources has stated that gay marriage ‘is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners. It is core to who we are and what we value as a company.’ Corporations should not take sides in a culture war that pits a company against half the American people, and nearly all its consumers in some international markets.”
NOM launched a website called DumpStarbucks.com and said it intends to place advertisements throughout the U.S., the Middle East, and Southeast Asia that encourages people to stop patronizing Starbucks because the company is gay-friendly. NOM is also asking people to call their local Starbucks and complain to the manager about the coffee purveyor’s gay marriage stance.
“We will not tolerate an international company attempting to force its misguided values on citizens,” Brown said in a statement. “The majority of Americans and virtually every consumer in some countries in which Starbucks operates believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. They will not be pleased to learn that their money is being used to advance gay marriage in society.”
NOM also calls Starbucks officials liars because they “advance gay marriage,” though they claim on their website to not support political or religious causes.
“NOM is falling back on their typical tactics. Starbucks has been a vocal supporter of marriage equality for loving same-sex couples — views that are in-line with the majority of Americans — and that enrages NOM,” HRC president Joe Solmonese writes in a press release. “As a result, NOM is throwing a temper-tantrum and encouraging its few supporters to intentionally harm the economic well-being of Starbucks employees all over the world.”
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