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
• A GAY FENSE OF CHICK-FIL-A
• THE NEXT TIME YOU CRAVE CHICKEN, REMEMBER THAT CHICK-FIL-A IS STILL VERY MUCH ANTI-GAY
• I'M BLACK AND GAY AND I'LL STILL EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A

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

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.

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

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.

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.

A GAY FENSE OF CHICK-FIL-A

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. ”John, a 26-year-old gay man who liv and works the New York Cy area, says he also ed to eat there as unrver as possible.

“Untentnally but subnscly, I was tryg to not be seen by the other gays that might be the area watchg me pull to the drive-th.

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

”I am a 40-year-old gay Black man who for large swaths of his life red about how others perceived him. 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. 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.

“To which I would say, ‘Well, I’ve never met a self-rpectg gay person, but if I did, they probably wouldn’t work at Chick-fil-A. “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. ” Chris, a gay 32-year-old who also asked that we only e his first name to protect his inty, says he’s arrived at that cisn for himself: He don’t feel ashamed for eatg at Chick-fil-A.

I'M BLACK AND GAY AND I'LL STILL EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A

Their reasons for this may be slightly different, but the mon nomator was a fear of the wrath of every gay person on the ter. In 2019, Chick-fil-A announced that they changed their missn and donate to different chari than they have the past, not specifilly nfirmg they will stop givg to anti-gay chari. ” Dpe their claims, the pany admted as recently as June 2018 to bankrollg anti-LGBTQ anizatns like Fellowship Of Christian Athlet, which prohibs “any ‘homosexual acts, ’ even for married upl” and The Salvatn Army, which has an extensive rerd of anti-LGBTQ advocy.

Once I did, I vowed to never let anyone make me feel like I was ls than them simply bee I lted after and loved other you n image how upsettg was for me when Chick-fil-A’s print, Dan Cathy, proudly me out as a homophobe 2012 by claimg, “We are vg God’s judgment on our natn when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what nstut a marriage, ’ 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. The rporatn has done a lot of good and even donated food to volunteers givg blood the wake of the Pulse nightclub massacre (though, ironilly, most gay men weren’t allowed to participate that charable effort). Elected officials have urged Chick-fil-A to stay out of their ci, the Jim Henson Company has severed ti, and gay rights groups are anizg natnal protts agast the ied chicken cha.

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been workg at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A sce January, sat his r smokg a cigarette and watchg the crowd durg a break earlier Wednday.