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Chick-Fil-A Hopes Hiding Bigotry Will Ameliorate Gay Marriage Backlash

By Kim LaCapria
Published on: 07:58 PST, Jul 20, 2012

Chicken joint Chick-Fil-A presents a conundrum for many Americans who support equal rights for gay people but like tasty, crispy chicken fillets, as the company has in the past been vocally opposed to gay marriage.

If Chick-Fil-A’s philosophy ended there, it might be less of a moral quandary for hungry gay rights supporters, but alas, it appears not to be.

Chick-Fil-A also is known to donate money to causes that work against the legalization of same-sex marriage, and in no small amount either.

Chick-Fil-A, according to one of the oldest gay publications in America, donated a staggering $2 million in 2010 to fight against gay marriage, money that could have been allocated to charities that actually follow Jesus’ teachings and feed the poor and care for the sick and infirm.

The company instead decided to take all that potential help and use it to make sure gay families remained unable to access the same rights and privileges us straight people take for granted, which has not been sitting well with people who also happen to like the company’s delicious offerings.

Recent confirmation from Chick-Fil-A that the company is proudly anti-gay renewed the controversy. As we reported earlier, Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy did not deny that the company opposed equal rights for gay folk, saying when asked recently:

“Well, guilty as charged…. 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…we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”

Now Chick-Fil-A seems to realize its anti-gay stance will interfere with the God we all worship — the almighty dollar. The company has decided to dial back publicly and only be anti-gay in secret, addressing the issue on Facebook with the following statement:

“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.

“Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

“Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

Have you decided to support or withdraw support from Chick-Fil-A in light of their recent statements?

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