Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz has openly supported same-sex marriage, and defended that stance in heated fashion against shareholder Tom Strobhar Wednesday, according to Gabriel Spitzer at KPLU 88.5.

Strobhar argued that Starbucks' aggressive support has hurt the company's bottom line; the National Organization for Marriage has boycotted Starbucks after they endorsed a pro-gay marriage bill. In the meeting, Strobhar reportedly said "In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earnings - shall we say politely - were a bit disappointing." Schulz responded that their decision to endorse the bill was about respecting people's rights.

"It is not an economic decision," Schulz said. " 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."

Schulz wasn't done, receiving applause after his next shot at Strobhar.

"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 of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much."

Strobhar is the founder of Corporate Morality Action Center, an organization created to address ethical issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and pornography with regards to corporations. According to the Corporate Mortality Action Center's website, their mission statement reads: "The mission of the Corporate Morality Center is to inform people of the influence corporations have on these issues and, where appropriate, challenge companies that offend traditional moral norms."

On the website, Strobhar continued to make his case, saying the stock declined 10 percent since their announcement. He closed a lengthy analysis of how their public stance is damaging the stock with a final zinger.

"Maybe Mr. Schultz should sit down, have a barista serve up a five-dollar caffeinated concoction, and remember what it was that put him in this position: selling coffee, not re-defining marriage."

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