Gay marriage backers threaten boycotts of pro-Prop. 8 restaurants

Some opponents of Prop. 8 are threatening to boycott the businesses of people who donated money to the ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California.

It was unclear how widespread the threats were, but an latimes.com database listing contributors to both sides of Proposition 8 saw a jump in traffic Wednesday.

El Coyote, the well-known Mexican restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, received calls threatening a boycott after it was reported that someone associated with the eatery contributed $100 to "Yes on 8."

Bob Montoya, a manager at El Coyote, said customers have called and threatened to boycott the restaurant, but it does not appear to have affected business. Montoya said he thought a boycott, if one was called, was misguided, as the restaurant has a number of gay employees and has always been gay friendly.

"I"m gay and I work here, and I've been here for 31 years," Montoya told The Times. "It's gay friendly. People have been coming here for many years, gay and straight, families and everybody."

Word of the boycott has spread around websites and Facebook. "We should put our money where our mouth AND support is AND NOT AT EL COYOTE," says a posting on one activist's website.

The Times also received a letter threatening a boycott of an El Pollo Loco whose owner apparently contributed to the Prop. 8 campaign.

Sonja Eddings Brown of ProtectMarriage.com said the boycott threats have extended beyond eateries.

“We have received calls today from our members in Greater Los Angeles and other parts of the state indicating that today their businesses are being hurt because they contributed money,” she said. “People who contributed have been receiving calls from people dropping their business with them.”

Eater L.A. has a spirited debate about whether it's right to boycott El Coyote.

A similar dispute is roiling the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento.

--Alexandra Zavis, Gale Holland and Shelby Grad

Comments

[James Sullivan]

This is simply an attempt to legislate moral acceptance of the gay lifestyle.

BINGO!!!!!

[sam]

Everyone has the right to spend money at stores they support, and if homosexual find that a business has contributed to take away their right than I don't see what that is being hypocrite. Straight people has every right to stop spending money at stores or products created by homosexual or supports them such as most major fashion brand, many design and art related product, Apple, Google, Yahoo and all other silicon valley companies...go ahead and boycott them if you feel like balancing out the homosexual's boycotts.

[frank]

The prissy whiny evangelicals are always boycotting businesses that don't bend over for them. It's about time we do the same. It is disturbing to see so many Christians interested in what I do in the bedroom. GROSS

[Vivian]

It's not somebody who works at some restaurant -- Marjorie is part owner of a restaurant which courts a gay clientele. It is pure duplicity to take our money and use it to take away our rights. I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

[cbk16]

Lets have the 53% of the people boycott those restaurants and business that want to get rid of traditional marriage. While were add it lets show hate to all Guys who support gay marriage, similar to the hate they have showed the churches that supported thousands of years of what marriage has always meant. I like what Elton John said on this, call it what it is civil unions, don't change what marriage has always meant.

[Matt]

I always find it funny how fundamentally retarded people who support bans on gay marriage are. Keep it up, ya'll.

And to the "I have friends who are changing their views" lol, I know for a fact you are lying.

[socaljd2]

"So I am starting a boycott of all gayness. If you are gay and own a business or just support gayness don't expect me to do business with you"

Go one further - why don't you boycott gay friendly business too! Apple, Microsoft, Disney, every major health care plan and every movie studio...boycott away and take your fellow bigots with you. Perhaps you could form a gay hating commune?

Keep it in the bedroom? Dont try and push your lifestyle on me? Tell you what, take off your wedding rings and keep the photos of your wife and kids off your desk at work and we'll call it even.

We will not go away and we will not allow our rights to be voted out of existence! We are not a collection of children whining about something trivial and we are not sore losers. We are human beings who refuse to submit to an unjust law that is based upon hate and ignorance.

All of you pro prop 8 folks need to realize that history and time is on OUR side of this argument - - WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

[Joseph]

For you "no on prop 8" types out there, we hear alot about rights in this debate. No on 8 groups are advancing civil rights ideals for their cause to curry sympathy from fair minded people around the country (9th circuit). Of course homosexuals have rights but this not defined as a CIVILrights issue. It was the gay leadership of California that agreed to have prop 8 on the ballot. If they felt so strongly against voting on "rights" then why go through the excersise to put it there? Because they were sure they would win.

Now that they have lost they want to redefine the debate in terms of civil rights so the courts will rule against the voice of the people yet again. But there exists another group that has rights and like it has been said your "right to hit ends where my nose begins". Traditionalists have the right to protect their children from homosexual indoctrination. That is the main reason why I voted yes on 8. How do same gender marriages affect the average person? Probably not that much but it does affect my children and the culture they will inherit.

PS anyone beside me wonder why there weren't any protests on Crenshaw Blvd since 70% of African Amercians voted yes on 8? Perhaps they were more offended than anyone by you framing this cultural battle in terms of civil rights.

[Jack]

And John by the way if you couldn't figure out that my stance on prop 8 is yes form my comment then it looks like you need a little educating yourself. And I quote my friends when I say whining, who happened to vote against prop 8. And fighting injustice? Cut me a break. The only things that civil unions cannot do that married couples can are files taxes, collect on each others pension, and collect on insurance benefits. Now all of those have one thing in common so let me think.........oh now I know. It all comes down to money. As far as I know the gays have the same rights as married couples besides that.

[JPatrick]

Anyone who believes this is a Gay issue is ignorant. This is a Civil Rights issue. If you consider yourself a true American, you should be appalled and frightened that prop. 8 passed.

[Be careful what you wish for...]

Do let us know which businesses the No on 8 group is boycotting, as the Yes on 8 group can be sure to frequent those businesses. Net result: these businesses will actually get more customers.

I can only imagine the hit Apple, Google, Dreamworks, and others (just check the list for who donated to No on 8) will take if the Yes on 8 people actually decide to respond with a boycott of their own. Most of the people who voted no on 8 aren't that interested and had more of a "you can do what you like attitude" in voting against Prop 8. I doubt they could be bothered to boycott. Most of the people who voted yes did so with some real conviction and would likely be happy to counter boycott, if it comes to that.

It would be a shame if the No on 8 group wants to make this an even more decisive issue than it already is. But if so, they will actually end up helping those businesses whose owners did support Prop 8.

[Cal]

The religious right has used boycotts for the last 40 years and the Prop 8 folks thought that was fine and dandy. The even sent threatening letters to NO on 8 businesses before the election. Funny how they get all uppity with someone suggests the opposite is fair.

[David Blackburn]

If they can eliminate one right with a simple majority of the vote, they can eliminate other rights too. These businesses should be boycotted for discrimination just as the churches that organized against it should be demonstrated against. If they Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, which I can't believe it would, then they should be demonstrated against too.

I hope we'll get more faces out there showing that just because someone is gay shouldn't mean that we don't receive the same governmental rights as others. Imagine that straight people are allowed to marry, divorce, remarry, divorce again and remarry again. They are given a clean slate every time!!! Gay couples that stay together 10, 15, 20, 25 or 50 years should have the same recognition as a straight couple that is childess! If you don't call this discrimination, I don't know how you would define it as something else.

[Let's change the subject a bit...]

I just decided I'm going to boycott the word gay and instead use the word "fahrvergnugen" (Favre for short), and for straight I'll use the word "rigotoni." That will make all of these attacks a little less personal and perhaps a little funny.

[Kevin]

The El Coyote manager donated $1000 and not $100. She is a Mormon and is now claiming that she blindly was following a request from her church. Give me a break. You don't blindly give $1000 away and certainly it was not given to the church but specifically to Prop 8. People have the right to shop or not shop at a store if their money is being used for purposes they don't agree with. Period. Shame on her.

[PDuff]

I think you people who keep bringing up the "Stop whining, move on!" as some type of argument against people exercising their right to demonstrate and boycott have been watching a bit too much Fox News. If Prop 8 had lost and supporters were demonstrating or boycotting I'd think, "They've got the right to do that."

Sean Hannity = college drop-out.
Rush Limbaugh = college drop-out.

Hannity insists he dropped out for financial reasons, but c'mon, he couldn't even go back to a city college where a unit was $15 per semester?

Sure, Bill Gates also dropped out of college, but it wasn't generic community college, it was Harvard. And he did so to start Microsoft, not to broadcast his phobias to the equally ignorant who pull their women around by the hair and beat their children.

I don't necessarily agree with the boycott of El Coyote because this was a single (and not very large) check from a single individual, and she has already agreed to meet and apologize. Ask her to donate $200 to Equality California and call it a day!

[Michael]

If there are enough gay and gay-supportive people out there to actually hurt businesses through boycotts, perhaps those very businesses should have thought twice before donating money to causes that hurt so many of their customers.

I fully support the boycotts. There is no hypocrisy or childishness going on here at all. We're not talking about a bond issue to build a new bridge not passing. Very real and fundamental rights were taken away from a minority group of people. One doesn't simply sit back and say "Oh, well..." after such an affront.

Believe it or not, I do respect the right of those same businesses to give money wherever they wish. Now it's their turn to recognize that the gay community has the same right give its money to businesses that don't turn around and stab us in the back. How on earth can those businesses be so irrational as to do that and then call us hypocritical for not continuing to support them?

[Ronin]

I am not gay and have no desire ever to be gay. So what? Maybe that's why gays don't bother me. I'm not afraid of "catching the disease". Why should anyone care if they get married? What harm does it do to hetero's? From one group I hear that gays spread disease because they have sex with multiple partners, then they say they shouldn't be allowed to get married. Now I believe that if they are getting married, they are probably not having multiple partners. Sooo? Shouldn't these fear mongers want them to get married? The religious minority must live in constant fear about everything. They are even called god fearing amongst themselves. What a terrible, sick way to live.

[Marker]

Everybody, please look at the data. Is it accurate ? The dollar amounts are correct, but just about everything else is suspect. Would you want your name in this list ? It appears most are BS Names/Addresses/Employers. Some people were honest enough, but others were more realistic about the implications of their political contributions.

[John Tackeff]

I can't wait till the Momon(moronic) church loses its tax exemption and has to pay 39 percent business taxes. I say raise the tax for churches to 50 percent, that way churches who lose the exemption get socked for preaching hate

[Jack]

John - it's not that it annoys me...I believe domestic partners should be afforded the same rights, privelages and responsibilites..I do not believe homosexuals should be descriminated against for jobs, housing, benefits, etc, but as is the case with polygamy and plural marriages society has a right to define what marriage is...and using that same rationale, I believe the courts will uphold Prop 8.

And unlike polygamy and plural marriage, domestic partnerships are treated the same as marriage in the State of California. So, except for a "name" it seems that all this fight is over is acceptance, and homosexuals do NOT have a right to that.

[Mmm donuts]

Jack, you almost make the best point I've heard an anti-gay marriage supporter make: "Why is it OK for the governement to disallow polygamy and plural marriage". The difference between Mormons who may want polygamy or marriage to children (pedophilia) vs gays who want to marry a single member of the same sex actually is a matter of choice. People truly do choose their religion and its customs. Mormons do have a true alternative of choosing to marry a single member of the opposite sex. Gay people do not choose to be gay. Since they cannot be true to who they are and marry someone of the opposite sex, the very important contract of marriage is denied them. My guess is in order to maintain your position you are forced to believe (against all scientific evidence) that being gay is a choice.

And what exactly is the "gay lifestyle"? There are so many different kind of gay people living in many different places in the country. If you think there is a single lifestyle that you can derisively blanket them with, that says more about your lack of understanding or a desire to be unfair in your analysis.

[Dennis]

Let's be reasonable. You're asked to state your employer when you make a contribution. Just because someone is employed at a business doesn't mean the business itself supported or opposed Prop. 8.

[Jake]

Jack: "same sex couples are affored the exact same rights, privelages and responsibilities as married couples in the State of California."

Clearly you have no idea about the laws surrounding this. Marriage affords numerous protections that civil unions do not. Otherwise we really wouldn't be tangled in all of this. It sounds like another lie that you've fallen for hook, line and sinker. I would suggest you brush up on the "legalities" before you voice your uneducated view.

[Kyle in Santa Barbara]

Dustin,

What you call "hypocrasy" (correctly spelled, "hypocrisy") is what I call the rights of free people living in a democracy. How misguided of you to tell people who have just had their rights taken away that they are hypocritical now if they fight to get them back!