ATLANTA — All of a sudden, biting into a fried chicken sandwich has become a political statement.
Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain known for putting faith ahead of profits by closing on Sundays, is standing firm in its opposition to gay marriage after touching off a furor earlier this month.
Gay rights groups have called for a boycott, the Jim Henson Co. pulled its Muppet toys from kids’ meals, and politicians in Boston and Chicago told the chain it is not welcome there.
Across the Bible Belt, where most of the 1,600 restaurants are situated, Christian conservatives have thrown their support behind the Atlanta-based company, promising to buy chicken sandwiches and waffle fries next week on “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”
The latest skirmish in the nation’s culture wars began when Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that the company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.” In a later radio interview, he ratcheted up the rhetoric: “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.’”
That fired up gay rights advocates, including a group that waged a campaign against the company in recent years by publicizing $3 million in contributions that the Cathy family foundation has made to conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council.
“This solidifies Chick-fil-A as being closely aligned with some of the most vicious anti-gay voices in the country,” said Carlos Maza of Equality Matters.
A Chicago alderman vowed to block a Chick-fil-A proposed in his district, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported him, saying, “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote in a letter to Cathy: “There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.”
In announcing it was pulling its toys, the Jim Henson company said it has “celebrated and embraced diversity for over 50 years.” It directed its revenue from the Chick-fil-A toys to GLAAD, a leading gay rights organization.
On the other side of the debate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared next Wednesday “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” to support a business “whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values.” Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who like Huckabee ran for president as a darling of social conservatives, joined the cause along with religious leaders.
“As the son of a dairy farmer who milked many a cow, I plan to ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ and show my support by visiting Chick-fil-A next Wednesday,” the Rev. Billy Graham said in a statement, referring to the slogan in the company’s ads, which feature cows urging people to eat poultry.
The Rev. Roger Oldham, spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, said many Christians want to support businesses owned by fellow believers, and the loyalty intensifies “when Christians see a fellow Christian being persecuted.”
“They will come out of the woodwork when a theologically based position is being politicized by individuals for their own purposes,” he said.
The Cathy family has never hid its Southern Baptist faith. Since Dan Cathy’s father, Truett, opened the first Chick-fil-A in 1967, the restaurants have been closed on Sundays, and the company refused to reconsider during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, sacrificing profits. It also boasts that the Chick-fil-A Bowl is the only college football bowl game with an invocation.
Chick-fil-A posted more than $4.1 billion in sales last year, most of it below the Mason-Dixon Line. Just 14 of its restaurants are in the six states and the District of Columbia where gay marriage is legal. Massachusetts has just two locations, both more than 10 miles from Boston. Illinois, which does not have same-sex marriage, has around a dozen, though only one in Chicago.
The company is well-positioned to come through the criticism relatively unscathed, even if it loses new markets in the North and elsewhere, University of Georgia marketing professor Sundar Bharadwaj said. He said that is because Chick-fil-A basically reflects the politics of its customers.
At a downtown Atlanta Chick-fil-A on Thursday, customers were divided over the company’s stance.
“If you’re a Christian, you believe in the Bible. The Bible says homosexuality is wrong. (Cathy’s) absolutely right,” Marci Troutman said over her breakfast.
Her business partner, Steve Timpson, said he chose not to eat at Chick-fil-A: “You’ve got to be more tolerant if you’re going to operate in the wider market in this country.”
Nearby, Dustin Keller offered another view of Cathy: “It’s his opinion. He’s entitled to it. I’m just here to eat.”
These fine “christian” people bore false witness and slandered Jim Henson,
relative to why they no long had his toys to give away;
“Chick-Fil-A Social Media Strategy: Fake Facebook Profile To Attack Critics
Chick-Fil-A, the Christian fast food giant whose operations manual is the Bible, today was caught red-handed using a fake Facebook profile — complete with stock photos — to attack critics.
Apparently, in the world of Christian Biblical social media, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” does not include creating a fake Facebook account and four hours later attacking the innocent .
AND
Coincidence! Chick-Fil-A pulls Jim Henson toy over ‘safety issue’ as company blasts restaurant’s anti-gay stance
The notice on the counter of Chick-Fil-A location in Plano, Texas says that a Jim Henson Company Creature Shop Puppet was pulled because some children’s fingers got stuck in the toys’ holes, but recall, ostensibly dated July 19, became public knowledge after Henson’s CEO criticized the chaIn’s anti-gay stance.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/coincidence-chick-fil-a-pulls-jim-henson-toy-safety-issue-company-blasts-restaurant-anti-gay-stance-article-1.1121473#ixzz21ma4YdPL
Kudos to this company for standing on the principles upon which they were started. They are standing for morality and traditional marriage between a man and a woman, which is right, but they are given bad publicity by the liberal media.
You can support traditional marriage without opposing the equal treatment of gays and lesbians, though. I support both traditional marriage AND civil marriage for same-sex couples!
So Chick-fil-a is openly anti-gay marriage? Who Cares? I don’t know if anyone remembers, but a few years ago the State of Maine was openly anti-gay marriage (Remember, we voted it down). I think it’s kind of funny that the national media is trying to make this into a huge issue, when in all reality right around half of Americans, if not more, agree with Chick-fil-a.
Data please.
Chick-fil-a is a very good restaurant. It is clean and the employees treat you with a friendly attitude. The food is delicious and the price is fair. They are closed on Sundays so the employees can attend church and be with their families. If more businesses could close on Sundays for families to pray and be together, we could have a less violent society. Hearing the anti comments from mayors to everyone else, was a show of their belief, well, when is the last time there was an uproar about any business run by owners with their outspoken beliefs. This is a democracy, we have a right to free speech. But this uproar was not needed.
At one of my two experiences, the employees were surly and not customer oriented. The food was nothing special either and therefore overpriced.
guess that experience can be any restaurant. I have had better experiences. the food has never been greasy and the party trays are always a hit.
And that is indisputable proof that those surly uncustomer oriented employees must mean that Chick-Fil-A is a homophobic, gay hating, gay bashing, prejudiced, God loving, Bible thumping, right of center, overly moral business. How dare they have values!!!
Who cares about their stance on gay marriage? This restaurant rocks! I just wish I didn’t have to drive all the way to Peabody, Mass. to get those awesome waffle fries! Freakin liberals need to find something else to occupy their time.
See my comments on another list. I’ve had two experienced with the restaurants, one well-managed, the other not. Food OK but overpriced and not that unique.
Has this establishment refused to serve gays? I don’t
think so. If their CEO has his beliefs, those are his
beliefs and if gays or anyone for that matter don’t
like his ideals…go somewhere else. What a joke!
However, he unnecessarily led with his chin with his SSM opinions. I don’t agree that his restaurants should be boycotted just for that, but he’s the one who politicized his restaurants in the first place.
And? So what? Up until just about a month ago
our community organizer had an evolvement and
his was strictly political. Good old Rahm’s position
when he was in the Clinton admin was the same as it was
in the community organizer’s admin. I guess he evolved too.
Besides, who are they to say WHAT an owner of a business
can say? WHO are they to say a business can’t be in their
city or state because of what an owner says and believes?
You don’t like the business, don’t go there. These clowns
are now trying to say a person CAN’T voice their opinion
because they own a business? So if a business owner supports
YOUR ideology and a mayor or gov of an opposite view wants
to put a stop to that owner from doing business…you would not
have a problem with that then?
I don’t care what his political views are on the subject, but I do care that Chik-fil-a has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations.
Which means I don’t eat there.
I do think that the politicians who are weighing in on this, trying to exclude Chik-fil-A from their towns, are wrong to do so. That type of action gets mighty close to violating the first Amendment.
Can a fast food chain actually *be* against SSM? The owners are…so? Are they refusing to serve gays?
Should I stop watching George Clooney movies because I don’t like where he sends his money