Hearkening back to Harvey Milk’s led Coor’s boycott  in the LGBT community in the 70’s, the boycott of  Russian vodka over Russians anti-gay hate laws is picking up steam rapidly in the United States with Chicago’s famed Sidetrack club climbing on board removing Stolichnaya Vodka and all other Russian products from their shelves.

It Get’s Better creator Dan Savage,  is now fully backing the boycott also and in his latest column for The Stranger writes:

“Seattle’s bars, gay and straight, must dump Stoli. Seattle’s drinkers, gay and straight, must dump Stoli. Some are arguing—based on Stoli’s outdated Wiki page—that Stoli isn’t a Russian vodka. ‘Presently the internationally distributed version of Stolichnaya is not a Russian vodka but is distilled and bottled in Latvia,’ Stoli’s Wiki page reads. ‘In 2009, William Grant & Sons signed an agreement to distribute Stolichnaya in the USA, taking over from PepsiCo.’ That’s old news. On January 1, 2014, Stoli becomes a Russian vodka again. The SPI Group—which will be distributing Stoli in the USA before the Olympic games begin this winter—is owned by Yuri Scheffler, one of the 100 richest men in Russia. Stoli is a Russian vodka.

“If you drink a Russian Vodka like Stoli, Russian Standard, or any of the other brands listed above, switch to another brand from another country, or even a local brand from a local distillery. Stoli is the iconic Russian Vodka and it’s returning to Russian ownership in 2014. Other brands like Russian Standard should also be boycotted. Do not drink Russian vodka. Do not buy Russian vodka. Ask your bartender at your favorite bar—gay or otherwise—to DUMP STOLI and DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA.” 

It’s a good start… but what next….?

Hey maybe the LGBT community’s  fierce ally President Barack Obama could finally call out the Russian government for it’s inhumane treatment of LGBT Russian citizens civil rights and finally break his deafening silence on the matter.