Apparently, however, Chick-fil-A has been under fire by Gay Rights groups for awhile now and a recent stand taken by Dan Cathy,\u00a0 Chick-fil-A\u2019s president, against gay marriage has only further fanned the flames.<\/p>\n
Although some of the furor from last year had appeared to have died down, a recent comment at the very end of an article originally posted in the Biblical Recorder and reprinted in the Baptist Press<\/a> has again rekindled the flame. When asked about the company\u2019s support of the traditional family, Dan Cathy responded;<\/p>\n \u201cWell, guilty as charged,\u00a0 we are very much supportive of the family \u2014 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 intend to stay the course,\u201d he said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In a subsequent radio broadcast on the Ken Coleman show, Cathy reiterated his position.<\/p>\n \u201cAs it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God\u2019s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, \u2018We know better than You as to what constitutes a marriage,\u2019\u201d Cathy said. \u201cI pray God\u2019s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Human Rights Campaign<\/a> (HRC) quickly launched several protests around the country and dropped the banner below on their Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0Several related articles popped up in all the major news and media outlets including the Huffington Post, The Washington Post, USAToday, the LA Times and of course\u2026 Fox News.\u00a0 The majority of the headlines carried the word \u201canti-gay.\u201d<\/p>\n Chick-fil-A quickly issued a public response on their Facebook page apparently trying to remove themselves from the fray.<\/p>\n Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston, however, wasn\u2019t about to let them off the hook so quickly and sent a strongly worded letter to Cathy regarding Chick-fil-A\u2019s lack of welcome in his city.<\/p>\n \u201cYour company says you are backing out of the same-sex marriage debate. I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston.\u2026I was angry to learn on the heels of your prejudiced statements about your\u00a0 search for a site to locate in Boston.\u00a0 There is no place for discrimination on Boston\u2019s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it. When Massachusetts became the first state in the country to recognize equal marriage rights, I personally stood on City Hall Plaza to greet same sex couples coming here to be married. It would be an insult to our city\u2019s long history of expanding freedom to have a Chick-fil-A across the street from that spot.\u201d\u00a0 (Read Menino\u2019s entire letter here.<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n And to make it all even more of a circus\u2026 now the Jim Henson\u2019s Muppets climb onboard the Chick-fil-A trainwreck.\u00a0 On July 20th, Jim Henson\u2019s Company posted a comment on Facebook<\/a> that stated \u201cThe Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors.\u00a0 Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Chick-fil-A, however, the Henson toys were recalled due to \u201csafety concerns\u201d the day before the Henson announcement.\u00a0 Signs posted in the restaurants make this claim as well. (notice the date.)<\/p>\n Interestingly enough, K. Allan Blume, the writer of the original article posted in the Biblical Recorder, goes on record in the Baptist Press<\/a> to say \u201cMany of those reports \u201cturned [the original story] into a negative. The term \u201canti-gay\u201d never came up in the June interview.\u201d\u00a0 Blume added. Wow!\u00a0 Where do you even begin?\u00a0 The first thing I saw regarding this entire mess was the sign (in the picture above) that was posted and shared on Facebook.\u00a0 The next article was one that was featured on Bing as a trending topic.\u00a0 As I started following the back links\u2026 the story just gets bigger and bigger and uglier and uglier.<\/p>\n I have to admit, my first thought was \u201cshame of you Chick-fil-A\u201d. \u00a0 I\u2019m not an activist by any means but I have friends who are in gay relationships and I support their right to partner with whoever they choose.\u00a0 And I do believe they should be awarded the same rights as any straight married couple. That, however, is my personal opinion.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also not a huge Chick-fil-A fan and my life wouldn\u2019t be affected much if I didn\u2019t bother to eat there again \u2013 but as I continued to delve into the story, I realized a slightly bigger issue is at play here.\u00a0 Blume\u2019s comments in the Press article (referenced above) point out the fact that Chick-fil-A as a company doesn\u2019t discriminate against their customers.<\/p>\n He even states that Cathy also said \u201cWe\u2019re a business that serves the public, all people are welcomed into Chick-fil-A, and frankly we do not feel called to weigh in on a lot of social activism that\u2019s taking place as it relates to the definition of the family, but we do definitely want to encourage strong families.\u201d<\/p>\n As an American citizen, Mr. Cathy is surely granted freedom of speech and the freedom to practice whatever religion he chooses.\u00a0 If he chooses to support organizations that perpetuate his beliefs, he\u2019s surely free to do so, even with the profits he makes from his business.<\/p>\n As consumers, we are also free to choose where we want to spend our money.\u00a0 If knowing that money spent in a store owned by or franchised from Mr. Cathy will be supporting organizations you don\u2019t agree with \u2013 you have the right to go elsewhere.<\/p>\n According to a recent poll in the Washington Post, however, 66% of the responders indicated they will continue to patronize Chick-fil-A.<\/p>\n Mike Huckabee has organized a Facebook Group<\/a> for two\u00a0 Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day events and Carly McGehee and Michael GetEqual Diviesti retaliated with a National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A<\/a>.<\/p>\n Are you attending either one?\u00a0 If a Chick-fil-A were in your neighborhood or already is\u2026 would you or do you plan to continue to support them?\u00a0 Have you been following the story?\u00a0 Share your thoughts, leave me a comment!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.inquisitr.com\/283163\/chick-fil-a-appreciation-day-started-by-mike-huckabee\/#ggsht=http:\/\/www.inquisitr.com\/wp-content\/2012\/07\/chik-fil-a2.jpg$\")
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\nIn case you\u2019ve been living under the same rock that I have, the Chick-fil-A controversy<\/strong> started back in 2011 when when a franchisee made a food donation to an event sponsored by a group intent on defeating same-sex marriage initiatives.\u00a0 It was also widely reported that a charitable organization founded by Chick-fil-A\u2019s founder, Truett Cathy did not allow gay couples in their marriage counseling program.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\nChick-fil-A Controversy: Corporate Response<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHenson\u2019s Muppets join Chick-fil-A Controversy<\/h3>\n
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\n\u201cEverything he stated was on the positive side \u2026 He never stated anything negative.\u201d<\/p>\n