Chick-fil-A locked in a Pennsylvania fight over gay marriage
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has found itself drawn into a fight over gay rights in Pennsylvania.
From my AJC colleague Jeremiah McWilliams:
A variety of complaints against the Atlanta-based company coalesced this month. There was the decision by a Chick-fil-A operator in Pennsylvania to supply food to an event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which has worked to defeat gay marriage initiates and has become a lightning rod for gay rights groups. There was a blogger’s contention that Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Foundation does not admit gay couples to marriage counseling.
Nicknamed “Jesus chicken” by jaded secular fans and embraced by Evangelical Christians, Chick-fil-A is among only a handful of large American companies with conservative religion built into its corporate ethos.
But recently its ethos has run smack into the gay rights movement. A Pennsylvania outlet’s sponsorship of a February marriage seminar by one of that state’s most outspoken groups against homosexuality lit up gay blogs around the country.
Students at some universities have also begun trying to get the chain removed from campuses.
“If you’re eating Chick-fil-A, you’re eating anti-gay,” one headline read. The issue spread into Christian media circles, too.
The controversy has moved president Dan Cathy to declare, in this video posted on the company Facebook fan page, to declare that while marriage is a focus of his chain, the provision of sandwiches and brownies for a local event is not an endorsement:
Dan Cathy Statement from Chick-fil-A on Vimeo.
Said Cathy:
”Some recent events have called into question the principles of Chick-fil-A, and speak directly to the heart of our organization. Last week, one of our local franchise Chick-fil-A operators in Pennsylvania made the decision to provide food to two upcoming February events billed to strengthen marriages.
“Marriage has long been a focus of Chick-fil-A, starting with my own Mom and Dad who are celebrating their 63rd year of marriage. In this case, the operator simply agreed to provide sandwiches and brownies for the events, as many Chick-fil-A franchises have done over the years for community events, businesses and civic groups.
“Some have used this small donation of food to suggest otherwise. We are very proud that our Chick-fil-A operators and employees work hard every day to go the extra mile in serving all of our customers with honor, dignity and respect.
“Let me be clear. Chick-fil-A serves all people, and values all people. Providing food to these events or any event is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance, or motives of this or any other organization. Any suggestion otherwise is just inaccurate.”
Clearly the topic is hot. This has been posted on the fast-food franchise’s Facebook fan page:
Hey fans. Please be respectful of others and treat this page as a fan page, not a place to argue with each other. Antagonistic, offensive, mean-spirited or crude posts will be removed and the person will be banned. Thank you.
Same applies here.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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192 comments Add your comment
UGA graduate
January 31st, 2011
2:21 am
Even though one is within walking distance to where I live, I will skip eating at this chain. The Family’s radical social agenda attempts to criminalize being gay in Uganda, resulting in one activist’s death last week. So who is the good Christian now? Your ignorance of Jesus’s love and tolerance only makes your support of hate, something that reminds me of the way bigots ruled the South when I was a young child.
Steve
January 31st, 2011
2:44 am
It’s the religious beliefs that make Chick-Fil-A one of my favorite places to eat. Looks like I will have to add at least one more meal in per week to support them.
dude
January 31st, 2011
2:51 am
Shut up and eat some chicken. The chicken is good with out all the stupid politics and I for one do not want them ever removed from my college’s campus. Some people are just always looking for any reason to boycott or protest……this is def a case of spilled milk. And btw I am in full support of equal rights no matter race, sexual orientation, etc…I just think some people take things too far.
dude
January 31st, 2011
2:56 am
Tell me this…if Chick Fil A was to provide food for an NCAAP event, Cattle Farmers event, or any other group with special interests or political clout in washington be subject to the same speculation and ridicule? Chick Fil A has donated chicken to numerous events across varied interest groups and demographics….it does not mean they support the particular groups mission. Spilled milk I say.
Chick-fil-A locked in a Pennsylvania fight over gay marriage - Atlanta - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum
January 31st, 2011
2:59 am
[...] Chick-fil-A locked in a Pennsylvania fight over gay marriage "Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has found itself drawn into a fight over gay rights in Pennsylvania." Chick-fil-A locked in a Pennsylvania fight over gay marriage | Political Insider [...]
Jim 007
January 31st, 2011
4:56 am
Chick Fil A not only has Great Food, but is a Great Company to work for !
Next we’ll hear how Mr Cathy is Unamerican because he closes on Sundays !
Choice
January 31st, 2011
5:07 am
Zaxby’s just opened in my small town. Looks like I now have an alternative. Their employees seem just as upstanding as those of Chick-fil-a.
Joel Dockery
January 31st, 2011
5:15 am
It is amazing the logical contortions people go through just so they can feel indignant.
Dawgfan1958
January 31st, 2011
6:12 am
Three meals a day @ Chic Fil A! Thanks Chick Fil A! See you when I am hungry.
Dawgfan1958
January 31st, 2011
6:14 am
Satan is bringing up his ugly head again!
Martha Zoller
January 31st, 2011
6:18 am
so accepting an order to provide food to a group constitutes a political statement?
Meant to offend
January 31st, 2011
6:43 am
To those of you pro-gay marriage, anti-christian people. Read my mind and be very offended.
mikey D
January 31st, 2011
6:58 am
just catered lunch last week to a beer distributor… does that make me pro alcoholic? or against A.A?
no, just providing a service so our business can thrive.
Buffalo Guy
January 31st, 2011
7:25 am
My gas station operator is a registered sex offender and does a nice job with my car. My banker cheats on his wife and takes up the collection in church on Sunday but his staff is very competent. My grocery store owner cheats his emploees out of overtime pay but is the only store in my town. I don’t care what the service / product perveyor does on his own time.
Mark
January 31st, 2011
7:39 am
It is never sufficient for evil to remain within its own confines.Eventually it makes its way to your door in order to remove every last vestige of conviction.
Aquagirl
January 31st, 2011
7:44 am
I always knew those cows were up to no good. You just can’t trust ‘em.
T.J. Jackson
January 31st, 2011
7:49 am
Good for Chik-fil-A. Excuse me while I run out for a chicken and biscuit. As we say around our house, “NO RIGHTS FOR SODOMITES.’
Eatin' Even Mor Chikin!
January 31st, 2011
7:53 am
CFA is a private company…they can serve anyone they want. And if people don’t want to spend their money anymore there, that’s fine, too. I commend Chick-Fil-A for taking a stand when others will just bow down to others…
Red
January 31st, 2011
7:59 am
The people who are all upset and want to boycott do not realize that if they applied this standard across the board, they’d be narrowed down to very few places to shop, eat out, buy groceries, go on vacations, etc. So by all means people, boycott. Make sure you check out every single business out there as well. It means less simpleton thinking around me when I shop.
And strike one up for the “tolerant” out there. The so called “tolerant” ones out there are the ones calling for heads to roll and to end relationships with Chic Fil A. You gotta love the irony. “We tolerate everyone…except for certain people who have opposing views from me.” Stone Age logic.
Kay
January 31st, 2011
8:02 am
This is a privately owned company and they can choose to donate food to whatever function they want. Go ahead and try a boycott. Then you will see what a small percentage a people agree with your bullying tactics.
Chick-fil-A is an excellent model of a company who values it’s employees and invests in the community. You really don’t want to live in a world without companies like Chick-fil-A. Plus, their chicken sandwiches are yummy.
Herby
January 31st, 2011
8:06 am
Thank you, Mr. Cathey, and Chick-fil-A folks for standing up for what is right-Biblical and traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Those that disagree can do so, however, they do not have any Bible to back it up. You do. I’d rather be on God’s side any day.
Sid
January 31st, 2011
8:06 am
“Zaxby’s just opened in my small town. Looks like I now have an alternative. Their employees seem just as upstanding as those of Chick-fil-a.”
while somewhere a cardiologist is saying: “why, yes, I would like the navigation system in my new Lexus!”
Last Man Standing
January 31st, 2011
8:07 am
The business has a right to donate food to any group. If Chich-fil-A had furnished food to a “gay” event, it would not have been newsworthy. I intend to patronize Chic-fil-A more in the future to help make up for any losses they may experience by exercizing their right to choose to whom they will donate food.
rex dogma
January 31st, 2011
8:09 am
chick fil-a provides food to everyone. this is stupid. get a life
The Centrist
January 31st, 2011
8:11 am
Homophobes have to eat like everyone else. Today Chick-Fil-A, tomorrow Jack-In-The-Box.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
January 31st, 2011
8:52 am
Not a christian myself..and I don’t really like chicken..but I am so tired of the In your face nature of the gays rights activists, that I am starting to turn against them. Your here, your queer, and If you drop dead, its no skin off my nose..get it? I don’t give a damn about 99.999999% of people, straight or gay, so stop acting like your life has any value or meaning to me. I do not dislike homosexuality or heterosexuality, per say,, I simply do not care and when you get in my face about it, I will hate you and your descendants for spite.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
January 31st, 2011
8:54 am
Btw just read Chik-fil-a just had it’s 48th straight year of sales and profit growth..I’m sure they are scared…
jconservative
January 31st, 2011
8:56 am
“That’s the problem with gay rights groups, they take everything out of context and try to shove their sexuality down your throat and then they are upset and start protesting if you don’t like it.”
More accurate would be the following statement:
That’s the problem with “most” groups, they take everything out of context and try to shove their “narrow opinion” down your throat and then they are upset and start protesting if you don’t like it.
This would apply to pro gay & anti gay, pro life & pro choice, pro gun control & pro 2nd Amendment just to name a few. In fact, I cannot think of a single exception.
JoeV
January 31st, 2011
8:56 am
@Martha Zoller
Just for clarification, Chick-fil-a didn’t take an order…the food was donated.
Cutty
January 31st, 2011
9:00 am
I’m a democrat who doesn’t care about someone’s sexual orientation or what they do at home, as long as they don’t bring their values around my kids to try and influence them. With that said, I’m on the way to CFA for a #1 w an oj. You people are utter buffoons if you’re gonna stop eating their because of this. Best food and service around. A nation of whiners yeah!!
crossdawg
January 31st, 2011
9:08 am
I like CF & their philosophy. I wil continue to eat their because prefer to eat with straights (and I like the food).
ROBOCOP
January 31st, 2011
9:12 am
Considering the fact that corporations now have the same free speech rights as actual human voters, Chick-fil-A is perfectly within its constitutional right to donate to any anti-gay cause it cares to. On the other hand, both gays and straights who disagree with Chick-fil-A’s decision have every right to deny spending their money on the corporation’s products. Simple. That’s what the Constitutionis all about. Corporations received last year the blessings of the US Supreme Court under “Citizens United” to pour as much money as they can afford to pour into any campaign they wish to, so it’s only fitting that other citizens be permitted to withhold spending their money to buy Chick-fil-A products.
Fed Up Cow
January 31st, 2011
9:16 am
Do you think the Gay Rights group could be arrested for a hate crime?! Good for you CFA! It is about time that corporations stop succumbing to the gay agenda’s relentless intimidation. Our public schools and churches could learn a lesson from your steadfastness.
Peter
January 31st, 2011
9:18 am
Chick-fil-A was told that if they did not open on Sundays, their business would fail. They stood by their principles and the company thrived. They answer to a Higher power than the god of political correctness. It is amazing how much “hate” speech comes from the liberal masses. Thank God for Chick-fil-A.
MamaS
January 31st, 2011
9:18 am
I support Chic-fil-A and I will be eating there as often as possible. In addition to good food, I am glad my money is going to support orphanages, children’s camps, scholarships and family counseling!
James
January 31st, 2011
9:32 am
@jconservative (8:56 AM):
You made the most accurate statement of the morning. I completely agree.
Everyone is blinded by the fact that they think they and ONLY they are right about everything. Throw in some religion and the problem is magnified by 1000 percent.
Personally, I’m liberal. I’ll still being eating at Chick-fil-a because I don’t care what a company believes politically as long as they provide a good service at a reasonable price.
Shane
January 31st, 2011
9:39 am
Please boycott Chic-fil-a bowl! I need tickets!!
LawDawg
January 31st, 2011
9:42 am
Unless they start writing anti-gay messages on the buns, I am going to file this under who gives a s***.
alan
January 31st, 2011
9:44 am
I will eat there twice as much now, matter of fact I am about to eat breakfast there.
Rich Jones
January 31st, 2011
9:47 am
As a gay man who has been in my relationship with my partner for 37 years as of this week, and who believes in the institution of marriage enough to have taken advantage of Iowa’s allowance of gay marriage two years ago, I fail to see the threat that my relationship is to anyone else’s marriage. No one has been able to tell me how I threaten anything in their own marriages. All they can say is they don’t believe in the same God I do. That’s fine. Have your beliefs and I’ll have mine but under our system of government, we are BOTH supposed to be treated equally. When a company actively works against that basic belief of American democracy, I will boycott them. I do it when they discriminate against blacks or Hispanics or women or any other group too.
raven
January 31st, 2011
9:48 am
Being Gay isn’t a sin but Gay sex is.
reed
January 31st, 2011
9:55 am
If they sold fish or wieners I could see a boycott work.
T-Bone
January 31st, 2011
10:01 am
I like reading the comments of people standing on the 1st Amendment to defend Chick-fil-A’s right to support whatever organization they want and at the same time condemning consumers for boycotting. So meta.
good move
January 31st, 2011
10:05 am
All this is going to do is increase chick fil a sales, starting with me at lunch
Seriously?
January 31st, 2011
10:08 am
Seriously? All of this hoopla for a donation of sandwiches and brownies? Fighting about free sandwiches for a marriage seminar will not get the attention of those who change laws. If students are truly concerned, they will speak to their representatives, not to someone who sells chicken. If anyone else is truly concerned, they are welcome to open their own restaurant chain and sell to select groups.
Support gay marriage or not . . . it is hard to argue that Chick-Fil-A is doing something right. Ask anyone of the thousands of students who have college degrees because of their CFA scholarships or the many foster children who have been cared for by the Cathy family.
People, choose real ways to make change if you want it, not chicken!
Seriously?
January 31st, 2011
10:10 am
My previous statement should read, “It is hard to argue that CFA isn’t doing something right.” Sorry for the mistake.
Karl Schneider
January 31st, 2011
10:13 am
There sure are a lot of ignorant, hateful bigots posting here. I’ll never spend another penny with those disgusting crapmongers.
ATLRAISED
January 31st, 2011
10:13 am
I worked for Chick-Fil-A for some years in management and I was told that Chick-Fil-A would not hire an open gay person especially in management. This operator said he did not agree with Mr. Truitt Cathy decision but if it was found out that the company would let those individuals go. Therefore I know for a fact that this company is strongly against gays and gay marriage. Yes Chick-Fil-A will receive monies for gays and will treat you with respect entering their facility but is strong against the gay movement and will not hire an open gay person even if that operator decides to employ someone that is…corporate would ask for that person to be remove from their position.
taylor
January 31st, 2011
10:32 am
Chick- fil- A sales are up 12% since this originally aired
WE have lost our way
January 31st, 2011
10:32 am
Almost lunch time.Let’s eat at Chick-Fil-A!!!!!Mr.Cathy it is your company and great one.