When the head of a major fast food chain underscores his support for traditional marriage, lefty heads explode. Dan Cathy, son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett, told the Baptist Press on July 16 that his father's restaurant chain is, in fact, still conservative.
In response to a question pertaining to the franchise’s support of the traditional family, Cathy replied “guilty as charged.” The president and chief operating officer continued, “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that... we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."
He reiterated his stance on the Ken Coleman radio show the next day. “As it relates to society in general, I think we’re 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. I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think we can try to define what marriage is all about,” he explained.
Naturally, the Huffington Post, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Advocate.com were among the many that were upset by the comments. Boycotts are now being organized, buzz is flying around the blogosphere, and people are leaving heated messages at both Chick-fil-A's and Cathy’s Facebook pages.
Huffington Post contributor Lorraine Devon Wilke wrote an article ironically titled Chicken with a Side of Bigotry, Chick-Fil-A’s Ungodly Business Plan. “His stance against gays and lesbians is not only distasteful,” she said. “It is stupidly counterproductive to business, and what could be holier than the bottom line?” she wrote.
Post food writer Tim Carman, who once pledged to stop buying Godfather’s Pizza because of his disdain for Herman Cain, created a poll to see who would join him in a boycott. The overwhelming majority of the respondents clicked the ‘everyone is entitled to their own opinion’ option so far.
This wasn’t the first time that Chick-Fil-A has been criticized for its conservative outlook though.
It has been promoting Biblical values since it first opened in the Atlanta area 66 years ago. This is best exemplified by its closed policy on Sundays and philanthropic efforts.
Pro-gay groups have been claiming that the company donated almost $2 million to what were labeled “anti-gay groups” in 2010 by its charitable arm called the WinShape Foundation. The Marriage & Family Foundation received the bulk of the funds, but the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Christian Foundation, and Family Research Council received sizable sums too.
