The owner of the 40-story Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego is the focus of a boycott for his support of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the November ballot.
Hotel owner Doug Manchester contributed $125,000 to Proposition 8, the constitutional ban on same sex marriage.
"We feel that if these individuals, businesses, and organizations so adamantly desire to take away our right to marry, then the LGBT community, our families and our friends should fight back against these purveyors of hate," said Californians Against Hate organizer Fred Karger.
Karger is organizing a protest in front of Manchester's hotel on Friday, July 18th. His group is also operating a Web site, boycottmanchesterhotels.com.
A boycott by a separate group is also being announced Thursday in front of the Manchester Grand. Local gay community leaders and union officials with United Here Local 30 plan to echo the call for boycotting Manchester's three hotels. They say their boycott announcement comes less than two weeks before the annual Gay Pride celebrations in San Diego. Manchester's hotels are non-union.
Two gay groups have already canceled plans to hold events at the Manchester Grand, after Manchester's $125,000 contribution became public.
The largest contribution from San Diego County to the constitutional ban initiative came from Mission Valley developer and owner of A-1 Self-Storage Terry Caster. He contributed $162,000. Another $25,000 was contributed by Hoehn Motors in Carlsbad owner Robert Hoehn.
"Our opponents have every right to contribute vast sums of money to take away our rights, and we have every right to fight back, and we will," said Karger. "They spent millions to qualify this amendment, and have vowed to raise in excess of $20 million to remove marriage equality in California."
Manchester also owns the Grand Del Mar Golf Resort and Spa in Del Mar and Whitetail Club and Resort in McCall, Idaho. All three Manchester properties are being boycotted by the group opposed to the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Manchester has not commented on the boycott but told the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this year that he decided to support Proposition 8 because he heard schools could be sued for discriminating against gay people if the school taught that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
