Chick-Fil-A Serving People Of Orlando After Pulse Nightclub Shooting Finally Prove Their ‘Love For Sinners, Not Sin?’

Over the past four years, Chick-fil-A has been accused of being a company that “hates” gay people because of their founders’ stance against gay marriage. Chick-fil-A, however, has tried to explain that they opposing gay marriage does not mean they “hate gay people.” Nevertheless, the LGBTQ community has pushed that Chick-fil-A’s stance against gay marriage is a reference that they hate gay people. With that in mind, what Chick-fil-A did caused a bit of a quagmire for the LGBTQ community: they served the community of Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting. Did Chick-fil-A finally prove they “love sinners, but not sin?”

For those who do not know, S. Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A on his Southern Baptist beliefs. That is why it is closed on Sundays, as well as on Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, many Chick-fil-A restaurants opened on Sunday to serve food, free of charge, to the galvanized people of Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting, as reported by DC Gazette.

“Turns out that while the founders definitely don’t approve of the gay lifestyle, they believe in compassion. Who knew? A bunch of people claiming to be Christians, caring about others even when they don’t agree with them. These employees took time out of their personal schedules, volunteering to feed those who were donating blood, that was desperately needed by the hospital to treat the severely injured survivors.”

Cindy Coffman, Chick-fil-A’s marketing director for the Orlando area, made a statement for the Independent Journal Review in which she hoped the LGBT (LGBTQ) community will accept their gesture as “an act of love,” despite their antagonistic views towards them.

Nets Censor Chick-fil-A’s Help in Orlando Blood Drives After Shooting… https://t.co/TZrUEPRY88

— Ratio Christi at UMD (@RatioChristiUMD) June 19, 2016

With Chick-fil-A extending love and compassion to Orlando, was it enough to finally show the LGBTQ community that despite their views on gay marriage, they do not “hate gay people?” Apparently not. According to Newsbusters, many media outlets refused to mention Chick-fil-A in such a positive manner. On Monday’s Nightly News on NBC, anchor Lester Holt and Harry Smith reported on the people who waited in lines to donate blood but did not mention Chick-fil-A feeding them. As a matter of fact, Smith said that the food and drinks being served “magically appeared.”

CBS and ABC also ignored the news of Chick-fil-A helping the Orlando community, refusing to mention them by name. Eventually, Chick-fil-A would be noticed for their contributions to helping the Orlando community on Fox & Friends. In turn, NBC, ABC, and CBS would eventually report on Chick-fil-A in which they stated that Omar Mateen, the gunman of the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting who killed 49 people, previously worked there.

Ultimately, what Chick-fil-A did shows compassion and love in the shadow of tragedy. Just because the company does not support the LGBTQ community’s pursuit to legalize gay marriage across the nation, it does not mean they hate gay people. It is likened to a family member who is a compulsive liar. You may not agree with said family member’s compulsive lying, but you still love the family member right?

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]