The National Organization for Marriage has
announced that it is launching a boycott of Starbucks, the international
coffee chain, along with its affiliates.
NOM decided to organize a boycott, dubbed the "Dump
Starbucks" campaign, because the company's corporate leadership
actively supported efforts to legalize same-sex marriage.
Jonathan Baker, director of NOM's Corporate Fairness
Project, told The Christian Post that Starbucks' support for
same-sex marriage goes beyond a mere statement from an
executive.
"The support is not just the personal endorsement of a
senior executive, but is the official corporate position of
the company," said Baker.
"Obviously this position does not reflect the views of all
customers and employees and the NOM protest and
dumpstarbucks.com is designed to enable these customers and
employees to have a voice."
Unlike other socially conservative organizations, the
boycott is "new territory" for NOM, having never organized
such an endeavor before, said Baker.
"We know what American voters believe about marriage, and
we also believe that as an international company that
Starbucks is going against the beliefs of the vast majority
of their customers in the Middle East and in places like
China and India
where they are gearing up for dramatic growth," said Baker.
"We have every expectation that tens of thousands of
Starbucks consumers will support our effort as we tell
Starbucks that true diversity is respecting the views of all
customers."
As the legal and legislative battles over marriage
definition erupted regarding the Defense of Marriage Act and
bills like the one brought before Washington State,
Starbucks stood firmly in support of same-sex marriage.
"Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest
employers in support of Washington State legislation
recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples," said
Kalen Holmes, executive vice president for Partner Resources
at Starbucks, in a statement.
"We are deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and
treating one another with respect and dignity, and remain
committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe
work environment
for all of our partners."
In the past, boycotts have been used by both sides of the
marriage definition debate against businesses that have lent
some form of support to one side or the other.
Back in 2008, the American Family Association announced its
intention to boycott McDonald's due to the company deciding
to make an agreement with a gay rights group. Over the past
few years, same-sex marriage organizations have attempted to
have colleges discontinue their business agreements with
Chick-Fil-A because of the fast food company's association
with socially conservative groups. Last year, gay rights
groups launched an effort to boycott Target due to their
affiliation with a conservative organization.
Regarding any comparison between the efforts, Liz Owen,
director of communications for Parents, Families, &
Friends of Lesbians and Gays, told CP that her organization
prefers "Buycotts" to boycotts.
"PFLAG National supports buycotts not boycotts: we
encourage all people who do not demean and devalue the lives
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to
support companies who support our loved ones," said Owen.
Baker of NOM felt that the efforts of socially conservative
groups to boycott businesses like Starbucks were different
because of the context of the corporation's support for one
side or the other.
"Neither Target nor Chick-fil-A have taken a corporate
stance in the marriage debate," said Baker.
"Both companies have a strong history of serving all
customers respectfully, neither company has taken a
corporate position on marriage, and we feel that both of
these boycotts, which have been ineffective, are
disingenuous."
