Chick-fil-A: Religious Freedom vs Gay Rights

Illustration by Ted McGrathPublished by Bloomberg Businessweek on 2 August 2012. By Drake Bennett.

Gay-rights groups, which for years have pointed out that Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm gives millions of dollars to Focus on the Family, the Eagle Forum, the Family Research Council, and other organizations that agitate against gay marriage, pounced on Cathy’s comments. The quotes spread in the usual ways, through blogs and the websites of watchdog groups, and the political haymaking commenced. 

On July 20, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sent a letter to Chick-fil-A urging the company to back out of plans to locate in Boston and told the Boston Herald that he would make it “very difficult” for the restaurant to come to town. (He later admitted he had no power to do so.) A few days later a Chicago alderman announced that he would block a planned Chick-fil-A location in his ward, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel chimed in that “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values.” 

On Twitter, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee declared that Chick-fil-A wasn’t welcome in San Francisco, even though the restaurant hadn’t announced any plans to open a location there, and Washington mayor Vincent Gray called the chain “hate chicken.” New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a favorite to be the city’s next mayor, wrote a letter last Saturday to New York University president John Sexton, whose campus hosts the only Chick-fil-A in the city, asking him to boot out the restaurant.

Against this array of urban Northern and coastal liberals, a red-state chorus arose to defend the honor of Chick-fil-A. Its partisans pointed out, among other things, that the chain was being attacked even though there’s no evidence it discriminates against gay customers or job applicants. Rick Santorum and Sarah Palin voiced their support for the chain, as did Billy and Franklin Graham. Former Arkansas Governor and talk-show host Mike Huckabee took to Facebook (FB) to declare himself “incensed at the vitriolic attacks” on the restaurant. He declared Wednesday, Aug. 1, to be Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day; more than 600,000 people pledged on Facebook to attend, and on the appointed day TV news channels showed lines outside certain franchises.

Read more here: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-02/chick-fil-a-deep-fried-civil-war#p1
Related report: http://www.christianitytoday.com/thisisourcity/richmond/another-kind-of-christian-witness-at-chick-fil-a.html?paging=off Franchise owner Erik Devriendt doesn't have much to say about the recent imbroglio over Dan Cathy's comments. He just wants to help local refugees.