By ALYSSA MARTINEZ, staff reporter

Coffee giant Starbucks brews up a whole “latte” of controversy, causing conservative group to “Dump Starbucks.”

About 62, 993 people have given their virtual signature and pledged to never buy another frappucino, not from Starbucks at least.

Last year, after same-sex marriage became legal in the state of Washington, Starbucks Coffee Co. developed and announced a company wide stance in support of the new law.

“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 in Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much,”  said Starbucks’ CEO Howard Shultz in late April at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

Shultz’ response to shareholder Tom Strobhar’s complaint that the company had lost customers because of its support for gay marriage caused jaws to drop.

Strobhar has been identified as the founder of the anti-gay marriage Corporate Morality Action Center.

“The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity; of all kinds,” said Shultz.

Their firm stance on the issue of same sex-marriage has caused uproar from conservative and Christian groups alike. The National Organization for Marriage has almost 63,000 supporters for their online petition to “Dump Starbucks.”

“(Starbucks) has taken a corporate-wide position that the definition of marriage between one man and one woman should be eliminated and that same-sex marriage should become equally ‘normal’,” reads the organization’s home page for the petition.

“As such, Starbucks has deeply offended at least half its U.S. customers and the vast majority of its international customers.”

As same-sex marriage is cause for much discussion nationwide and even globally, it is also a topic that has left much room for debate right here in Ellensburg.

“I know that Starbucks as a company has declared their position in this matter, and it has upset a lot of people,” said junior public relations major Sarah Jane Johnson. Johnson is a member of Mercer Creek Church’s SALT.

Though Johnson says she can’t speak for SALT as a whole, as a self proclaimed Christian, she has strong personal opinions on the matter.

“I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman, it says so in the bible,” said Johnson.

Though Johnson maintains a traditional Christian view on the matter, she doesn’t close herself off completely from the idea that large parts of society, and widely on college campuses including Central Washington University, this kind of diversity is beginning to be not only embraced but accepted.

“I do have homosexual friends, I went to Western (Western Washington University) for two years. I’ve been exposed to this kind of culture a lot,” Johnson said. “I don’t hate them at all. I mean they’re my friends, I don’t approve of their lifestyle, but it’s their choice.”

As mentioned by Shultz, Starbucks employs over 200,000 “partners,” which is how the company refers to their employees.

Their employee base is a largely diverse pool of individuals, including those who identify with particular religious denominations.

“I feel that Starbucks does have a right to say whatever they feel like or support whatever they feel like since this is America,” said Joshua Pong, a local Starbucks barista. “While I don’t support gay marriage because I am Roman Catholic, I still am comfortable for now working for Starbucks. I would quit if they tried to make me support gay marriage in any way though.”

Pong, however, is not against giving equal rights to those who are in favor of same-sex marriage. “I do support gay rights and love and respect all LGBT people as Christ would which is taught by the Catholic church,” said Pong.

A common consensus seems to be that the movement to boycott the company could be almost futile because of its vast hold on the beverage industry, and the fact that every day more and more companies support these same issues.

“I understand what the ‘Dump Starbucks’ movement is trying to do, but feel that is kind of a vain attempt,” Pong said. “They should by all means continue as is their right being Americans but just focusing on Starbucks, I feel, is not going to be enough. So many other companies also support gay marriage.”

Another question raised by this topic is whether Starbucks will lose or gain customers after a move like this.  The opinion of some is that this well could have been a carefully planned public relations (PR) move.

“I think it is such a cool thing that Starbucks supports gay marriage rights in such a public way. People really need to understand that just because your preferences are different than others, doesn’t mean you have fewer or different legal rights than others,” said sophomore sociology major and Starbucks consumer, Cynthia Moreno. “But, I also think that Starbucks probably realized how diverse their customers and employees are, and decided it would be a good move that would bring in more customers and also appeal to employees.”

While other students don’t think it was such a smart business move on the coffee company’s part, their appreciation for our right to express our opinions and views is still present.  “I think it was a terrible PR move, because they’ve lost a lot of customers and their respect,” Johnson said. “There are plenty other coffee places around town (Ellensburg) that we can go to instead of Starbucks.”

Although she is not joining the group now, Johnson said it is not out of the question.

“I would sign the petition if Starbucks started to market and publicize their stance with signage and whatnot,” Johnson sad. “I love their frappucinos. I can’t stop, but I probably won’t go there as much now.”

Starbucks continues to maintain a positive outlook and a firm stance on the issue, and believes that they will only move forward as a company and wishes to continue to contribute to society as what they say is an embrace of diversity.

“From our very earliest days, Starbucks has strived to create a company culture that put our people first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading on and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion,” said a Starbucks spokesman during a phone interview.

For more information on the “Dump Starbucks” movement you can visit www.dumpstarbucks.com. For information about Starbucks you can visit the company website at www.starbuckscoffee.com