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

[sameulberg]

Welcome to McCarthyism of the 21st century! Everyone is being investigated to uncover Pro prop 8 donations. These "violators of equality" will be flushed out and exposed for their evil doings where they will be blacklisted, boycotted and bankrupted. Even restaurants with many gay employees will be wrongly boycotted, because one of the nieces may have donated $100 to keep marriage between man and woman. Now, the totalitarians are demanding an official position by the restaurant they they are 100% behind gay marriages or face the firing squad. This is paired nicely with the acts of vandalism perpetrated upon many churches that may have supported traditional marriage. The hypocrisy within the gay community (that supports this type of behavior) is really sad and goes to show the narcissism that runs deep within. And if I hear another person compare the gay movement with the civil rights movement of the '60's, I'm going to puke. Where are the gay only lunch counters, drinking fountains and buses? How can you be pulled over while driving gay? Mon Dieu!

[Lane]

A significant portion of the homosexual community seems focused on ending marriage and simply moving to all civil unions. Marriage denotes a deep physical, emotional, and (to some) spiritual commitment that goes beyond legal responsibilities imposed by civil unions. I applaud homosexual couples who want to show their deep commitment to each other through marriage even though I feel marriage should continue to be limited to one man and one woman. Not all married couples have children but the primary purpose for the legal responsibilities and benefits of marriage is to support a cohesive unit for the raising of children. An extension of marriage to homosexual relationships not biologically designed for the rearing of children will necessarily weaken the purpose of marriage and will hurt the deep commitment marriage symbolizes, resulting in weaker marriages. Weaker marriages hurts society. I realize that some homosexual couples have adopted children and many are probably very good parents. However, I feel we have to balance the needs of homosexual couples with children with the need to keep traditional marriage stronger, and in this balancing test I feel we should keep marriage as traditionally understood: the union of one man and one woman.

[Frank Stjerne]

Hey - are we living on the same planet??? Sorry Californians/American, fellew members of the western world, Nato whatever, but this is very, very hard for Europeans to understand, what is going on in your minds.

Why is it so important for some people in your society to define what is good and what is bad for other people in the year of 2008?

Why is it important looking at especially the American history to define a set of right for one sort of people and another set of rules for another sort of people?

Please make up your minds. Is this what you are fighting for when you try to teach the Iraqies what democracy and human rights is about?

Sorry, most of us over here in Europe don't understand you.

Frank Stjerne, Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe - part of the Western World.

PS: We have had gay marriages in Denmark for almost 20 years and our society still stands like the other contries with gay marriages/partnerships: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Britain, Nederlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, France, Spain, Luxemburg, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland - Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, South Africa, Canada - and more I can't remember.

[Brad O.]

I'm gay friendly and I donated to Yes on 8. Contrary to what the No on 8 camp will try to make you believe, you do not have to be against Prop 8 to be for gay rights.

All this rhetoric about "bigotry, discrimination, and hate" is nothing but a way to try to manipulate people from doing what they believe is right. Diane Feinstein is a classic example of this, "No matter how you feel about marriage, vote no on 8?" My response to Feinstein is, "You are the worst leader this state has ever had. How dare you ask me to vote contrary to what I believe?"

[james]

I am boycotting California all together. I wont be traveling there unless people can build a bridge and get over it. The people voted, this is a done deal just as Obama's campain is a done deal.

[SteveJJ]

Hey, I donated a huge amount of money to the Yes on 8 proposition and I'm looking forward to the contribution deduction on this year's taxes. And by the way, I work for the United States government, so go ahead and boycott your government too while you are at it.

[Zach]

So much ignorance here - think beyond yourselves, people! Inequality under the law makes something a civil rights issue, not just skin color. If your sister goes for a marriage license and says she wants to marry another woman, her lesbianism is as obvious as the skin color of the black man at the Whites Only drinking fountain. I'd hope no one would ever stop "whining" if the majority voted THAT back in! Further, this is not about behavior, however "deviant" you think it. This is about how gay people live their lives in California, a state with a constitution that upholds equality. Prop 8 has nothing to do with gay sex and everything to do with encouraging stable, monogamous relationships. Why would you be against that?

Above all, equality is NOT simply about giving people what they WANT, it's about giving people what's fair and appropriate under the law. That's why those rarely-seen but often-mentioned people who want to marry kids, animals, or multiple spouses can't have what they want just because they want it. Marriage is a contract between two people, and who those people are changes nothing about the contract. BUT, if those people cannot enter into a contract (like children) or are not people (horses), then they simply can not be married. Gays ARE people and CAN sign contracts, so there's no reason they ought not enjoy the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Nothing more, nothing less!

[JIm]

A boycott of Prop 8 supporters is probably the worst idea the No on 8 group can come up with. This kind of action signals to Prop 8 backers that "the gloves are off' when it comes to pushing moral issues, and evangelicals and other Prop 8 supporters will enact their own plan to boycott No on 8 businesses and support Yes on 8 businesses. They have more money and more people on their side, and in the end it will be the gay community -- and those who support them -- that will lose. Peace is far better than a crushing defeat at the hands of organized religion.

[spm]

Oh dear now I won't patronize El Coyote. Too bad I long ago gave up on them because their food sucks. Darn. I really would like to boycott them or anyone else who voted yes on the stupid and cruel Prop. 8. Any more restaurants we could avoid? I eat out A LOT. BTW I am married hetero with children and friends who are political. We love to boycott twits.

[eye4spot]

Marriage is NOT a religious institution, it is a legal contract...ask any "hetero" where they obtained their marriage license? the county clerks office or city hall...then ask anyone getting a divorce if they hired a lawyer, and if their payments to the lawyer were tax deductible?

You say that marriage is only for heteros because "the bible tells me so" ... It is not your place to force your "moral beliefs based in religious indoctrination" on other Americans who may be legally practicing freedom of (or from) religion... Americans that feel your interpretation of "legal presidents" based on personal religious beliefs is flawed.

I personally have an issue with institution that takes tax funds from the federal government for "Faith based social programs" and turns around and spends 25 million dollars of tax exempt $$ on pushing its beliefs on everyone else.

If religions want to play politics, lets vote on a proposition to do away with their tax exemptions...Let them pay taxes just liker any American based business.

Boycott Mormon businesses & those who supported prop 8 with donations to the deny constitutional rights off all americans?? "Hell" Yeah!

[Pro8Guy]

Wow, since when was gay marriage a right? Since when did the votes cast by Californians not matter anymore? Today apparently.

I know a homeless guy that wants to marry his pet rat, is that going to be a civil right now? The gays are quick to scream about their "rights" and all the hypocrisy surrounding this issue but the true hypocrisy nobody wants to discuss is the simple fact that the people have spoken and their collective voices say "NO!", a gay marriage is not a marriage at all. I love how gays want to tell me that I cant tell them what a marriage is, well it works both ways, YOU can't tell me what a marriage is either. Stop trying to force me to believe that a man and a man can get married. I say they can't and the majority of Californians agree with me, AGAIN! So go ahead and eat wherever you want but get off of WIlshire, go home, and let me and my WIFE live in peace.

[Zach]

No, YesOn8, the "call to arms" won't stop. Get used to the fact that the majority cannot simply vote rights away from a minority. That's un-American, but you're more than welcome to try to rally other people like you to counter-protest. Or you can just move to Iran - I hear they don't have any gays there, if that's more important to you than a free and equal society.

[Eliezer]

Quote from Elton John in USA Today:

"I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership," said John. "The word marriage, I think, puts a lot of people off. You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships."

EVERYONE BOYCOTT ELTON JOHN! DON'T BUY HIS MUSIC!!! HE SUPPORTS PROP 8!!!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-11-12-elton-john_N.htm

[AK]

"Boycott Utah"

Hahahaha!!

[Gemzrmine]

OK OK OK, this has gone way too far!!!! I must say we as People will fight for a "CAUSE", but is this a good cause to be fighting for?
Why would you boycott because your "Lifestyle" isn't "Righteous? That should be the question at hand. You can't force your "Lifestlye" on all Califorians. It was your right to choose and you choosed a "Lifestyle " that came with a lot of pros and cons. Unfortunately, we dont have to tolerate but accept your Lifestyle Choice. So please stop with the injustice all this anger is oonly making the Economy worst, my best friend is a promoter and he lost over $3K last weekend because of the Protesting. Not only that I sat in Traffic for 2 hours trying to go pick up my children, That's not Fair!!!!!!!!

[Daniel]

What a shame the gay community is going to boycott all the business that supported prop 8. I have a better idea, why don't you boycott the state of California and leave. Go to Connecticut and Massachusetts and have your civic union recognized there as you are trying to get it done here. That way you can live there happily ever after. If you want to come back to California, do so knowing that your "marriage" from those states will NOT be recognized here. Live here in a civic union and leave the marriage to the heterosexuals.

What you don't want to do that. The law is the law, if you don't like this law, enact legislation to change it. The majority, even if it is only 1, have spoken twice on this issue.

Get a clue. Marriage is between a man and a woman and this has nothing to do with civil rights. It is about protecting marriage from what the majority still consider to be unnatural and whether “you like or not” it is based on religious beliefs. This country was
founded on religious beliefs, whether “you like it or not”.

As much as you want the majority of people to accept the gay lifestyle, we will not. We are tolerant, civil and respectful and can live peacefully together. How you choose to live your life is none of my business, just as mine is none of yours.

[TJ]

This is utterly shameful!! It is amazing how "minorities" flip out when they don't get what they want. We had an election and the people spoke. Therefore we need to accept this decision. This behavior is intimidation and shameful especially for our legislators to support this as they have. Don't confuse the difference between the judicial branch and the legislative branch of gov. Stop the intimidation of the work force. Don't disrespect religious organizations. Just as you want respect.. you are not showing any.

[Vivian]

Trying to make sense of it all -- Thank you for your civilized comment. Not everyone who voted for Prop 8 is bigoted (although that depends on how you define the word) or uneducated. However, the Yes on 8 campaign purposefully ran a deceitful and malicious campaign. Churches are NOT going to be forced to perform same-sex marriages (has any Catholic church EVER been forced to marry anyone they didn't want to?) and children heard about gays (horror!) not from the schools but from the Yes campaign and its supporters themselves. Before the deceitful ads appeared, the majority of Californians were AGAINST the Proposition. So no, not everyone who voted yes is uneducated, but the Yes on 8 people disseminated misinformation relying on the fact that many people won't educate themselves on the truth. And they manipulated them.

[RR Ryan]

Good lord, people. You needed this excuse to avoid El Coyote? Have you ever eaten their food? Reason enough, prop 8 notwithstanding.

[Willa]

Comparing what Prop 8 supporters would have done had they lost versus what the gay community and their suppoters are doing now is intellectually dishonest. For Prop 8 supporters, the measure was a politcal and religious statement, and losing doesn't affect their lives. For gays and lesbians, they have had their rights stripped from them. They have a right to protest. That is not whinning.

[Randy]

When children are afraid to enter a business, a school, a place of worship, or a park it is terrorism. The terror can be caused by gangsters, creepy people, or mobs screaming about their rights. Children must have safe passage in their daily lives. No one has the right to say their personal needs and desires are more important than the children. No jihad justifies child abuse of any kind.

[Tim]

This is pretty darned funny. How many times over the years have bigoted, bible-thumping conservangelicals threatened to boycott filmmakers, TV networks, auto manufacturers, major department stores, food brands, etc. etc etc., when there was the slightest hint that the gay lifestyle might be portrayed in even a neutral light? I've never met a conservangelical who wasn't a hypocrite - I guess that's their "tradition" and it's definitely why I left the church that two of my grandparents were ordained ministers in. I've spent hundreds of dollars at El Coyote and always had a great time there, not so much because of the food (which is so-so) or the drinks (cheap, but you get what you pay for), but because of the campy, overdone, Guadalajara-on-acid atmosphere. On a Friday or Saturday night, the place (which is large) was full of gay people. Well, I guess there won't be long waits for tables anymore. The "employee" - or rather, the OWNER, Marjorie Christofferson - has been a very visible fixture, all the regulars knew her. Yes, she smiled and chatted and was friendly to all. Kudos to her for hiring gay people. Shame on her for stabbing her gay employees and her gay patrons in the back this way. She says she's sorry, she loves us gays, she would never do anything to hurt us, and she wishes she'd never done it. Sorry she did it, or sorry she got caught? Oh, and for those conservangelicals who are vowing retribution by boycotting gay businesses - who do you think you're kidding? You wouldn't come within a mile of a gay-owned business and likely never have unless you were completely unaware of it. How are you going to like it when we start pulling our money out of California banks? It's simple to open out-of-state bank accounts and have our in-state wages direct-deposited elsewhere. As long as we have debit cards, we won't be affected. But with the drain on assets to fund mortgages and small business loans, the loan market here is going to dry up even further. Good luck going to Massachusetts or Connecticut banks to get loans.

[PDuff]

Attn: historical morons. We DID have state legislation in support of gay marriages -- twice. Gov. Arnold vetoed it both times, arguing that the courts should decide (although something tells me it was more to hold onto whatever little Republican street cred he had left). And then the court DID decide -- in favor of gay marriage.

So who are the sore losers on this? I'd say those who supported Prop. 8 in the first place after BOTH the judicial and legislative branches had spoken.

WOULD YOU PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELVES??!! Finally??

[Jeffrey]

The people spoke, the losers act like spoiled brats. You know when the Judges overturned the will of the people, we didn't go out and protest and act like little children.

I guess it's better to go intimidate people and terrorize their place of employment rather than just accept the fact, we are not ready for marriage to be redefined.

Whatever sympathy I had for gays, evaporated the minute you started try to silence the voters, intimidate them, disparage them. If it came to a vote again, I would vote yes.

[FredW]

I'm going to go out of my way to patronize any business that is boycotted by the opposition to Prop 8.

We are spreading the word though our yes on 8 campaign group for everyone else to do the same.