A gay fense of Chick-fil-A

Contents:

• I’M GAY AND I EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A. SHOULD I FEEL ASHAMED?
• CHICK-FIL-A ANTI-GAY CONTROVERSY: GAY EMPLOYE SPEAK OUT
• FDG OUT WTBROOK’S CHICK-FIL-A IS OWNED BY TWO GAY MEN MA ME PSE
• A GAY FENSE OF CHICK-FIL-A

I’M GAY AND I EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A. SHOULD I FEEL ASHAMED?

Tett Cathy and his wife Jeate Cathy, has donated over $1 ln to groups that actively oppose same-sex marriage, cludg Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Fom; the anti-LGBTQ Christian group Foc on the Fay; the SLPC-certified hate group Fay Rearch Council; the now-funct ex-gay therapy group Exod Internatnal; the exclively for-heterosexuals-only Marriage & Fay Legacy Fund; and the Fellowship of Christian Athlet (FCA), a relig groups whose “sexual pury policy” prohibs any homosexual acts. However, The Chick-fil-A Foundatn’s IRS filgs om 2015 revealed that the foundatn donated $1 ln to the FCA; $200, 000 to the Pl Anrson Youth Home, a Geia-based rintial home for troubled youth which said that child abe homosexualy; and $130, 000 to the Salvatn Army, a relig ternatnal chary that has long opposed same-sex marriage and anti-LGBTQ hog discrimatn protectns while supportg relig exemptns om LGBTQ+ anti-discrimatn laws.

One anonymo gay worker disuraged boytts, notg that they would mostly harm the cha’s LGBTQ+ employe, but also acced the rtrant’s anti-gay and Christian supporters of beg self-righteo, arrogant, and bld to LGBTQ+ sufferg. Too often, those on the left make rporate statements to show support for same-sex marriage, abortn, or profany, but if Christians affirm tradnal valu, we’re nsired homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and tolerant. On Augt 3, 2012, however, gay rights activists around the natn held kiss- protts opposn to the rtrant’s anti-LGBTQ+ donatns and Dan Cathy’s views agast same-sex marriage.

Around the same time, gay artist Manny Castro spray-pated a Torrance, California Chick-fil-A rtrant wh a picture of a w and the words “Tast Like Hate” prott of Cathy’s anti-gay statements. The Amerin Fay Associatn also circulated a petn which stated, “It looks like you (Chick-fil-A) are abandong Christian valu and agreeg wh homosexual activists who say believg the Bible mak you a hater.

CHICK-FIL-A ANTI-GAY CONTROVERSY: GAY EMPLOYE SPEAK OUT

In September 2022, Alexandre’s Bar the Dallas gayborhood of Oak Lawn announced the sale of s own “Chick-fil-gAy” sandwich that was only available on Sundays (the day on which all Chick-fil-A lotns are closed). Notably, Chick-fil-A never explicly said would permanently stop donatg to anti-gay groups or anizatns that discrimate agast LGBTQ people — jt said was changg s philanthropic givg mol. In 2012, the Chigo-based Civil Rights Agenda issued a statement claimg that Chick-fil-A had promised to “no longer give to anti-gay anizatns, such as Foc on the Fay and the Natnal Organizatn for marriage.

FDG OUT WTBROOK’S CHICK-FIL-A IS OWNED BY TWO GAY MEN MA ME PSE

As ThkProgrs reported 2017, Chick-fil-A ntued to bankroll anti-gay groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athlet, the Salvatn Army, and the Pl Anrson Youth Home through s foundatn. A year earlier, a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-A’s cisn to donate food to a marriage semar nducted by the Pennsylvania Fay Instute, a group known for s anti-gay advocy, prompted a natnwi boytt of the cha.

Cathy issued a vio statement rponse to the boytt, which he claimed the pany “serv all people” and that, while he personally believ the “biblil fn of marriage, ” his pany don’t have an “anti-gay agenda. In 2011, the same year a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-A anchise donated food to a lol anti-gay anizatn, the LGBTQ advocy group Equaly Matters obtaed tax rerds which revealed that the Cathy fay had donated more than $1. 1 ln gift to the Marriage & Fay Foundatn, a group that promoted so-lled tradnal marriage and opposed both gay marriage and divorce; $480, 000 to the Fellowship of Christian Athlet, an athletic anizatn that requir applints to agree to a “sexual pury statement” that nmns LGBTQ people for livg “impure liftyle[s]”; and $1, 000 to Exod Internatnal, a group that promot anti-gay nversn therapy.

A GAY FENSE OF CHICK-FIL-A

For Chick-fil-A’s opponents, the problem was bigger than Cathy’s anti-gay ments, was that he was apparently puttg his money where his mouth was, and he had a lot of money to go around.

Though Chick-fil-A never managed to fully shed s reputatn as a homophobic purveyor of lic chicken sandwich, ntued to expand s natnal prence, pecially above the Mason-Dixon le. The Cathys’ “dissonant view, ” as one brand nsultant lled , may have fally hurt Chick-fil-A’s bottom le — pecially now that a popular, non-homophobic alternative to Chick-fil-A’s sandwich has emerged. But Chick-fil-A is only closed on Sundays — not all June urse, for some members of the LGBTQ+ muny and our alli, eatg at Chick-fil-A is the ultimate transgrsn agast our terie — and when you look at some of the evince, for a gay person, ’s hard to argue 's ntroversial historyIt all started 2010, when the WShape Foundatn, a charable enavor of Chick-fil-A founr S.

” When Chick-fil-A gave over $8 ln to the foundatn 2010, WShape then donated $2 ln of the funds received om Chick-fil-A to seven anti-LGBTQ+ groups, cludg The Fay Rearch Council, an anizatn listed as an “anti-gay hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law went on for years, cludg 2012 when Dan Cathy said that Ameri was “vg God’s judgment” for entertag the ia of same-sex marriage and later said “guilty as charged” when asked if he thought marriage equaly should not then, Cathy has openly voiced his anti-LGBTQ+ opns and personally donated to anti-LGBTQ+ groups. Several articl, thk piec and tweets later, Chick-fil-A’s charable foundatn said halted s donatns to three groups agast gay marriage 2019, cludg the Salvatn Army and the Fellowship of Christian is even as Cathy has ntued to donate (om his personal funds) as recently as 2021 to anizatns acced of fundg opposn to The Equaly Act, which would expand civil protectns for LGBTQ+ people. “I have a joke my standup that is, ‘Gay people got me hired at Chick-fil-A and that’s how I started workg there, ” Ryan Leach, 31, a gay edian and former Chick-fil-A employee tells “There was a small group of my hometown, we all knew each other was gay and one of them worked at Chick-fil-A and got the rt of hired.