After confronting Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at last week's annual Starbucks shareholders' meeting, a furious National Organization for Marriage (NOM) announced an international boycott against the coffee company because "purchasing a cup of Starbucks equals support for gay marriage."
But so far, "We're not seeing any impact," says Starbucks spokesman Zack Hutson. If anything, NOM's attack has endeared Starbucks to the public and sends a message to Fortune 500 companies that defending gay rights is safe political ground.
Not only is Starbucks unaffected, but as of March 27, NOM had reported barely 22,000 signatures on its petition. That's a drop in the coffee cup compared to marriage-equality advocates. Just one of several groups who began counter-organizing, www.sumofus.org, collected names for a "thank you card to Starbucks for standing up for gay rights." That petition, as of March 27, had a staggering 281,000 signatures—more than 10 times NOM's petition.
