Starbucks CEO Did Not Threaten Christians Over Same-Sex Ruling Amid Conflicting Reports

Did Starbucks Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Robert Schultz threatened Christians about their support for traditional marriage? Christian Post said Schultz was painted this way in at least a couple of reports citing his response to a shareholder at a meeting.

When the shareholder asked whether the company’s stand on same-sex marriage affected sales,

Schultz was quoted as saying, “Not every decision is an economic decision. Despite the fact that you recite statistics that are narrow in time, we did provide a 38% shareholder return over the last year. I don’t know how many things you invest in, but I would suspect not many things, companies, products, investments have returned 38% over the last 12 months. Having said that, it is not an economic decision to me. 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.”

Marty Duren for the Christian Post said that Schultz’s words were interpreted differently from his original intention, and pointed out that actually, he leads the coffee chain in supporting marriage equality. In a letter published on the company website, Schultz expressed his support to the US Supreme Court ruling on Marriage Equality.

In June, the Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court ruling recognizes same-sex marriages in all US states. The ruling was later tested when a county clerk refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who wish to tie the knot.  The Supreme Court’s ruling was in light of the denial of marriage between same-sex couples, in a handful of states like Alabama.