Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employe Speak Out | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• CHICK-FIL-A HALTS DONATNS TO 3 GROUPS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE
• I’M GAY AND I EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A. SHOULD I FEEL ASHAMED?
• THE NEXT TIME YOU CRAVE CHICKEN, REMEMBER THAT CHICK-FIL-A IS STILL VERY MUCH ANTI-GAY
• CHICK-FIL-A PRINT COM CLEAN ABOUT COMPANY'S ANTI-GAY PHILOSOPHY
• CHICK-FIL-A DON'T RULE OUT SUPPORTG ANTI-GAY GROUPS AFTER DROPPG 3 CHARI FOLLOWG LGBT BACKLASH
• IS CHICK-FIL-A ANTI-GAY?
• CHICK-FIL-A ANTI-GAY CONTROVERSY: GAY EMPLOYE SPEAK OUT

CHICK-FIL-A HALTS DONATNS TO 3 GROUPS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

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.

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

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. 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.

THE NEXT TIME YOU CRAVE CHICKEN, REMEMBER THAT CHICK-FIL-A IS STILL VERY MUCH ANTI-GAY

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. Several gay employe said some ctomers offered homophobic words of support for the bs while other people yelled at employe for supportg a homophobic pany.

CHICK-FIL-A PRINT COM CLEAN ABOUT COMPANY'S ANTI-GAY PHILOSOPHY

Chick-fil-A’s supporters have enuraged the pany to embrace s anti-gay social stanc, while s crics have urged the pany to turn away om s anti-LGBTQ+ practic. In 2012, gay activists and alli staged a natnal boytt of the cha after one lotn donated food to a semar hosted by the anti-gay Pennsylvania Fay Instute. 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. 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). Chick-fil-A is endg donatns to three groups that oppose gay marriage an effort to halt protts and broan s ctomer the move has angered some of the fast food cha’s Atlanta-based pany said Monday that startg next year, will foc s givg on three areas: hunger, homelsns and tn.

CHICK-FIL-A DON'T RULE OUT SUPPORTG ANTI-GAY GROUPS AFTER DROPPG 3 CHARI FOLLOWG LGBT BACKLASH

But the meantime, don’t plan to ntue s support of three groups that oppose gay marriage and have been the target of prottor’s ire. The foundatn also gave $6, 000 to the Pl Anrson Youth ’s cisn to no longer support the groups angered some nservativ, who say they stood by the rtrant 2012 when CEO Dan Cathy said several terviews that he didn’t support gay marriage.

Earlier this year, airports Buffalo, New York, and San Anton blocked the rtrant om openg at their s bee of the pany’s gay rights rerd. A lotn the Uned Kgdom is closg bee of, an LGBTQ rights group, said greeted Monday’s news wh “ut optimism, ” but said Chick-fil-A has ma siar pledg Anrson, GLAAD’s director of mpaigns and rapid rponse, said if Chick-fil-A wants to be taken serly, should speak out agast s anti-gay reputatn and ensure rtrants are safe for gay employe.

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. There are lots of gays at the school I went to and would be a mon thg where I would notice other gays gog gno to Chick-fil-A, tryg to get their fix. Gays: Sometim we eat at social media, posts about this taboo take particular hold durg Pri Month, when shame is supposed to be banished favor of celebratn.

IS CHICK-FIL-A ANTI-GAY?

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.

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

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. “It seems sort of nscendg and shallow bee no one n school you on the vlence of evangelil Christiany better than a gay who was workg at Chick-fil-A, bee was d pared to the thgs that we were exposed to as children.