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Chicago group takes out ads in local gay media

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Chicago, IL — Some gay activists across the country are calling for a new boycott of Coors Beer with the entry into the race for US Senate by Coors Chairman Peter Coors.

During a Monday debate between Coors and his chief rival for the GOP nomination in Colorado, former Rep. Bob Schaffer, Coors said he supports amending the US Constitution to prevent gays from marrying.

Previously, Coors said he supported the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but was not sure it belonged in the Constitution. 

Coors' growing support for the proposed amendment, and the large contributions made by other members of the Coors family to extreme right wing groups, has led gay bar owners in Chicago to stop stocking Coors products.

The group, has taken out ads in Gay Chicago, the Windy City Times and the Chicago Free Press. The ads ask "What are you really buying?" and includes a quote from the National Lawyer's Guild that says the Coors family "continues to be a major supporter of right-wing homophobes."

The letter is signed by the owners of several major gay clubs and bars as well as prominent figures in Chicago's gay community. The ad campaign organizers also have set up a Web site: www.whatareyoureallybuying.com.

In 1978, gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk launched a boycott of Coors products that spread across the country. Since then Coors has attempted to court the gay community.  It extended benefits to the partners of gay workers and five years ago the company hired Mary Cheney to help it gain access to the gay market.  Cheney left the company in 2000 to work on her father's campaign for Vice President.

©365Gay.com® 2004

This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.

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