Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy Speaks Out On Gay Marriage Controversy | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• CHICK-FIL-A CEO DAN CATHY SPEAKS OUT ON GAY MARRIAGE CONTROVERSY
• CHICK-FIL-A CEO CATHY: GAY MARRIAGE STILL WRONG, BUT I'LL SHUT UP ABOUT IT AND SELL CHICKEN
• YEARS LATER, CHICK-FIL-A STILL FEELS HEAT OM LGBTQ GROUPS OVER ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE REMARKS
• CHICK-FIL-A CEO AND GAY ACTIVIST ARE NOW FRIENDS
• CHICK-FIL-A CEO DAN CATHY STEPS TO GAY-MARRIAGE BATE
• GAY MUNICH

CHICK-FIL-A CEO DAN CATHY SPEAKS OUT ON GAY MARRIAGE CONTROVERSY

Chick-fil-A Print and CEO Dan Cathy apparently laments gettg the fast-food cha volved the bate over marriage equaly, but he isn't takg back his anti-gay ments.

Cathy spoke wh The Atlanta Journal-Constutn about the homophobic remark that land him and the bs hot water nearly two years ago. Cathy agreed that the "lgerg inty" of Chick-fil-A wh "anti-gay groups" that jumped to s fense 2012 has meant "alienatg market segments":.

CHICK-FIL-A CEO CATHY: GAY MARRIAGE STILL WRONG, BUT I'LL SHUT UP ABOUT IT AND SELL CHICKEN

Read more about the billnaire Cathys, cludg charable donatns to anti-gay-marriage groups, here. 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. 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.

YEARS LATER, CHICK-FIL-A STILL FEELS HEAT OM LGBTQ GROUPS OVER ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE REMARKS

But the 2012 cint wasn’t the first time the Cathys were acced of homophobia. 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.

CHICK-FIL-A CEO AND GAY ACTIVIST ARE NOW FRIENDS

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. 9 ln to anti-gay groups 2010 through the WShape Foundatn, the Cathy fay’s charable givg anizatn found by Tett Cathy 1984.

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. 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. In a 2014 terview wh the Atlanta Journal-Constutn, Cathy admted he regretted gettg volved the gay marriage bate.

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. Chick-fil-A, the fast-food cha famo for ied chicken sandwich, is ntug to tch cricism om the LGBTQ muny for anti-gay marriage remarks s CEO ma seven years this week, the cy uncil San Anton, Texas, voted to ban the cha om openg a rtrant the ternatnal airport gay-rights supporters cricized Louisville's mor-league soccer anchise for nng a promotn wh Chick-fil-A that offered ee sandwich if the team story:Louisville Cy FC fac LGBTQ backlash over partnership wh Chick-fil-ARints also recently chastised the Ccnati Reds for partnerg wh the cha to offer ee chicken sandwich wh a drk purchase to fans wearg Reds gear on Openg Day Universy New Jersey drew headl late last year when elimated Chick-fil-A om a list of potential on-mp vendors bee stunts protted over the cha's reputatn for an anti-gay bias.

CHICK-FIL-A CEO DAN CATHY STEPS TO GAY-MARRIAGE BATE

' And I pray God's mercy on our generatn that has such a priful, arrogant attu to thk that we have the dacy to fe what marriage is about, " Cathy said a rad pany's charable foundatn, The Wshape Foundatn, has fund nservative Christian groups, cludg the Fay Rearch Foundatn; Alliance Defendg Freedom, which supports re-crimalizg homosexualy; and Exod Internatnal, a now-funct group known for "nversn therapy" tend to make gay people bee pany has repeatedly said don't support any polil agenda on fai and marriage, but the fact that Cathy didn't apologize for his statements has been a long-standg plat wh LGBTQ activists.

Andrew Cathy/Photo urty of Chick-fil-ADan Cathy, who guid Chick-fil-A through an credible n of growth spe a changg dtry landspe and ntroversial ments over gay marriage, will step down as the cha’s CEO, effective Nov. The proposed act, which passed the Hoe of Reprentativ wh a bipartisan majory and is supported by two-thirds of Amerins, would protect lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people om discrimatn at a feral Atlanta-based fast food cha Chick-fil-a announced late 2019 that would stop makg charable donatns to anti-LGBTQ anizatns, and to be fair, did. After all, I am an out, 40-year-old gay man and a lifelong activist for equaly.

I am also the founr and executive director of Camp Pri, the leadg natnal anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr (LGBT) and ally llege stunts. Whenever an out gay stunt on mp would walk past the table, the aterny would chant, "We love Chick-fil-A, " and then shout anti-gay slurs at the stunt.

GAY MUNICH

We learned about each other as people wh opposg views, not as opposg our meetgs I me to see that the Chick-fil-A brand was beg ed by both sis of the polil bate around gay marriage.

When I me out as openly gay llege, I was aware that his relig views were not supportive of homosexualy. His beliefs prevented him om fully rencilg what he unrstood as the immoraly of homosexualy wh the moraly of lovg and supportg me and my life. He uld have been portrayed as "vg to the gay agenda" by welg me.

Gay and straight, liberal and nservative, activist and evangelist -- we uld stand together our difference and our rpect.