Prop. 8 foes shift attention

Since the election, the stores have received angry calls about Proposition 8 as well as comments from customers. "They have a right to their views, but they should take it up with the person who did it, not the people who work here. . . . We're providing a business, that's all we do," said Parvel, who has worked for the company since 2001.

Robert Hoehn was another person who made Karger's "dishonor roll." Hoehn, vice president of the Carlsbad-based Hoehn Motors, gave $25,000 of his own money to the Yes on 8 campaign in February. And he called what followed "a really, really ugly experience."

Hoehn said that most of the campaign against him came before the vote, when he received "dozens and dozens and dozens" of phone calls and his Honda dealership was picketed. Since the proposition passed, he said, he has received a few "vitriolic messages and phone calls."

Next time, he said, he will be "smarter" about how he gives such a donation, possibly in a way that doesn't require listing his business. "I wouldn't not do it because of fear," he said. "I am not ashamed of it, but it has been a very educational experience."

Despite the criticism, activists say they plan to continue applying pressure. "It doesn't matter if it's the CEO or if it's the hostess that greets you at El Coyote. It really makes no difference," said Gerry Moylan, 47, a Los Angeles Realtor who planned a night of picketing in front of the restaurant Thursday.

"If I'm going to eat dinner at El Coyote and part of my money is going to pay the hostess' pay and she turns around and uses her pay to promote a proposition that takes away my rights, then I'm going to stop paying my money to her."

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tami.abdollah@latimes.com

cara.dimassa@latimes.com