When will companies learn it’s not a good idea to piss off the gay community? As a community, we’re organized, and we’re consumers with more discretionary cash than some other communities. We’re also socially aware. We’re not afraid to boycott companies that do bad things.
Several years ago, the city of San Francisco passed an ordinance that required companies doing business with the city to offer the same benefits to same sex couples that it offers to differing sex couples. United Airlines sued the city, and they paid dearly. Keep in mind that United Airlines has a MAJOR hub in San Francisco, and San Francisco is the epicenter of the gay community in the United States. The gay community organized a boycott of United Airlines. They lost business to American Airlines. Ultimately, United relented.
California’s Prop 8 has sparked a ton of lists of companies to boycott. Landing on one of these lists could cost you a lot of business. One such example is HRC’s List. If you’ve been hiding under a rock the past few months, California’s Prop 8 was a ballot initiative that basically made us second class citizens again.
I’m telling you, don’t piss off the gays…