Starbucks' endorsement of gay marriage
has improved its perception among Democrats, but it has turned
Republicans sour.
In January, Starbucks was among the
more than 100 Washington-based companies to support a bill legalizing
gay marriage in the state. Lawmakers approved the measure and
Governor Chris Gregoire signed it into law. Currently, the law is on
hold pending the outcome of a citizen's initiative to be held in
November.
(Related: Washington
gay marriage supporters outraise foes in June.)
The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), which is opposed to such unions, launched a boycott against
the coffee giant. As of Tuesday, 45,874 people had pledged at the
group's boycott
site to “dump Starbucks.” However, more than 651,145 people
joined a petition
thanking Starbucks for its support.
In January, both Democrats and
Republicans perceived the brand equally, according to YouGov
BrandIndex's Buzz score. Democrats scored Starbucks at 15.7 and
Republicans at 14.6. By last week, however, a clear partisan divide
had emerged. Perception among Democrats improved to 19.3 and among
Republicans declined to 10.7.
“I don't know about you, but I would
be pretty unhappy if this was how my 'non-political' coffee company
was being viewed by conservatives in the United States,” NOM
wrote at its blog.