Gay Marriage Endorsement Nets Starbucks More Thanks Than Boycotts

When Starbucks announced its support for Washington state's recently approved gay marriage law last month, the coffee giant must have known that some people would be happy and others would be angry. According to the results of competing petitions, it appears Starbucks' announcement pleased far more people than it upset.

Among those upset was the anti-marriage equality National Organization for Marriage, hilariously called NOM. According to On Top magazine, NOM sent a representative to Starbucks' shareholders meeting last Wednesday to ask about the company's decision, which chairman and chief executive Howard Schultz reaffirmed.

"I think any decision of this type or magnitude has to be made with great thoughtfulness," Schultz said. "And I would assure you that the senior team of Starbucks discussed this, and it was... to be candid with you, not something that was a difficult decision for us."

In response, NOM started a boycott petition that currently has 17,930 pledges. The organization appears to have been prepared for Schultz's response, as they had the Dump Starbucks domain name and web site ready to go.

In response to the NOM petition, Sumofus.org started a group thank you card, which currently has more than 180,000 signatures thanking the coffee giant for supporting gay marriage.