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Chick-fil-A's gay marriage stance causing a social storm
The fact that Chick-fil-A is a company that espouses Christian values is no secret. The fact that its 1,600 fast-food chicken restaurants across the country are closed on Sundays has long been testament to that.
But the comments of company President Dan Cathy about gay marriage to Baptist Press on Monday have ignited a social media wildfire.
"Guilty as charged," Cathy said when asked about his company's support of the traditional family unit as opposed to gay marriage.
"We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that," Cathy is quoted as saying.
Strong feelings of support and disagreement have followed, making Chick-fil-A the top Google trend on Thursday morning as the company's Facebook and Twitter pages were burning up with arguments.
"Hate mongers! Never again! Not another $ from me," Duke Richards wrote on Facebook.
"Goodbye Chikkk-fil-a! your food was delicious, but I can no longer eat nuggets filled with hate!" read a post by Blake Brown.
Eatocracy: Fast food with a side of faith
"I am truly ashamed of the recent admittance from Mr Cathy about your bigoted company practices. I hate the fact that my money was used for this. I will never support your company (and) will make sure anyone I know does not either," Mikell Kirbis wrote on Facebook. "While I'm not a Christian I know that hate is not in God's plan nor (is) ignorantly picking sections of the Bible to brandish. Good bye and I hope either you change your ways or close down."
But the support for the company was just as vehement.
"Just wanted to say I'm proud that you stand firm in your beliefs. You knew the risks, and still took the plunge. May God bless this company with abundance. Never back down!" said a Facebook post from David Jones.
"Thank you for standing up for what you believe. The truth is not hate. It's just the truth," wrote Sharon R Boyd.
"I love the values that this restaurant stands for and will support it every dang chance I get! Pay no attention to the morons spewing hate!" read a post from Raymond Joy.
Does religion influence what you buy? Share your view on CNN iReport.
Twitter comments were also divided.
[tweet https://twitter.com/MissMerica/status/225806557227667457%5D
[tweet https://twitter.com/danforthfrance/status/225812600171139073%5D
[tweet https://twitter.com/TheEvilWesley/status/225760117864402944%5D
[tweet https://twitter.com/ChuckyMcDaniel/status/225814099492220928%5D
In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, the company said it would stick by its principles, but it tried to withdraw from the heated social media debate over them.
"The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent owner/operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena," said a statement from Don Perry, the company's vice president of corporate public relations.
The Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group, said Wednesday that Cathy's comments gave consumers a clear choice.
“It's strange to say, but it's good to see Chick-fil-A finally admit to their anti-LGBT policies," Michael Cole-Schwartz, the organization's director of communications, told CNN. "Now fair-minded consumers can make up their own minds whether they want to support an openly discriminatory company or take their business elsewhere. As the country moves toward inclusion, Chick-fil-A has staked out a decidedly stuck-in-the-past mentality.”
Polling shows increasing support for gay marriage in the United States. A CNN/ORC Poll conducted in late May found 54% of respondents favoring the legal recognition of gay marriage with 42% opposed. The poll had a sampling error of 3%.
Let us know what you think about Chick-fil-A's stance in the comments below.
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Let the weenie puffers huff and puff, and the rug munchers whine and cry.
May God bless Chick-Fil-A
He is welcome to express his personal views. BUT he seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth because he donates TONS of money to ANTI-GAY organizations that are POLITICALLY active, and are instrumental in opposition to marriage equality. To me, that is unacceptable. He needs to keep his religious views to himself and out of the public sphere.
My family and I eat at CFA several times a week. Our response to Dan Cathy's beliefs...we'll be doubling our consumption of CFA food! Love everything the company stands for! Thank you Dan for being a man of grace and integrity who speaks the TRUTH in love. -Bill Hedgpeth, Greenville, SC
Thank you, Bill: "My family and I eat at CFA several times a week. Our response to Dan Cathy's beliefs...we'll be doubling our consumption of CFA food!"...
Are you going to double your bad cholesterol and your weight as well? High blood pressure and high BMI , hmmm, they are great things too. god's speed to y'all.
Do you realize how bad fast food is for your family? Instead of educating your family about compasion, you choose to stuff their faces with fried chicken and fried waffle fries? I never realized there are people who would put their family in danger just to squash the equality of gay people.
You shouldn't eat that much fast food.
And that is why I no longer attend Grace Community. You religious freaks continue to give SC a bad name!
I'm not under the impression they did very well in business anyway.....BUT, I won't ever eat there.
Myself, and my husband will never eat at chick-fil-trash until they pull the bible from their culo and stop pushing hatred and bigotry. And we are a gay couple, so dont like it? Get over it, you are in no way involved in my life, so what i do in my own bedroom, shouldnt concern you 😉
That is true. And what Chick-fil-A does and does not do is their business.
I'm sorry but we have gotten to be a society that people just twist words around. Dan Cathy said Nothing Wrong, it's his own beliefs and he did not say he hates anyone. I believe in traditional marriage too and my gay friends know it and they know I still love them and they respect my opinions. People need to think before they speak and read carefully. All he says is that he believes in Traditional Biblical Marriage. Is that a Crime? Not in this country, and it's not a crime for Gay marriage, it's just not for everyone. Let's Love, not Hate.
I am Gay and support Mr. Cathy's views and opinions. I will continue to eat his food.
And his comments also indicate that he apparently doesn't know as much as he thinks. The "biblical definition of the family unit" is not one-man-first-wife. Biblical families encompassed far more complex arrangements than that...
Agree, that's whats suppose to be great about this country, that we can have our beliefs, it is also our right to have an opinion about those beliefs and choose not to patron this establishment anymore. So people who chose not to conduct business with Chick-fil-a because they believe different does make them haters anymore than the President of the company make his remarks, which by the way has nothing to do with chicken. Thats all he should talk about and keep his beliefs to himself.
I for one will be eating more chicken, AND giving money to the BSA. Anyone disagreeing with the gay lifestyle is labeled hater, hey, I just feel it's not natural. We're the only species that practices it on a large scale. I think it's because we choose to, so what! Do what you wanna do, it's your life, just don't call me a hater just because I disagree.
Well then don't be a hater. Hater.
Myself, and my husband will never eat at chick-fil-trash until they pull the bible from their culo and stop pushing hatred and bigotry. And we are a gay couple, so dont like it? Get over it, you are in no way involved in my life, so what i do in my own bedroom, shouldnt concern you
They are not pushing hatred. They are voicing what the WORD says and that is what they and I believe in. You can believe that eating their chicken is wrong because of that and we will not condemn you for it. I will eat your and your husband's share of chicken..
Looks like you're the one with an attidude problem. Glad you will not be going there.
I don't go to gay bars and you don't have to go to Chick-Fil-A. Simple as that.
Does it count as a boycott if you already stay away from a place because the food is awful?
funny, i feel the same. T.
Did knowing all there Christian Values lead you to believe this wouldn't be one of them? Is it "hate" or being true to their colors...hmmmm? Just another even for social media...boring.
Fully support what Cathy said. MAN to WOMAN.....WOMAN to MAN ......Nothing more and nothing less.......Anything else is an abomination and now wonder........ drought!!!!
A sodomite is one who forces themselves on another and will attack from the back anyone men,women,old men, old women, kids,animals and even knotholes in trees and they are getting thicker then flies on used toilet paper, and some hang out in the cracks of the toilet seats just like parasites.that's why God named them sodomites.
lolz at Chick-fil-A and their so-called Christian morals. Didn't they know that the sabbath is on a Saturday? Wrong on that and forgetting 'love thy neighbour'. Bad, bad Christian chikin luverz... ಠ_ಠ
HELLO MR CATHY you have a lovely name!!!