starbucks and same sex marriage

In January 2012, a Starbucks executive stated it supports the legalization of same-sex marriage. This resulted in a boycott by the National Organization for Marriage, a political organization that opposes same-sex marriage, who received 22,000 signatures in favor of their boycott. In response, CEO Howard Schultz had this to say: "If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much." In addition, 640,000 people also signed a petition thanking Starbucks for its support.