Background
On January 4th, 2011, Metro Weekly[1] published an article titled “Is Chick-fil-A restaurant against gay rights?”, which reported that the anti-gay marriage organization Pennsylvania Family Institute (PFI) listed American fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A as a co-sponsor of two marriage conferences. On January 6th, Chick-fil-A posted a statement on its official Facebook[2] page, downplaying the company’s relationship with PFI by claiming it only provided sandwiches to the marriage seminars.
On November 1st, the LGBT advocacy group Equality Matters[3] published a report revealing that Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm WinShape had donated over $1.7 million to anti-gay groups in 2009. On July 2nd, 2012, Equality Matters[4] published another report, stating that WinShape donated over $1.9 million to anti-gay groups including the Marriage & Family Foundation and the Family Research Council in 2010.
On July 16th, an interview with Chick-fil-A’s chief operating officer Dan Cathy was published in the Christian news service Baptist Press, in which Cathy revealed that the company did support a “traditional family.” On July 18th, Cathy appeared on the syndicated radio show “The Ken Coleman Show” and stated that he believed advocating same-sex marriage would be “inviting God’s judment on our nation.”[5]
Notable Developments
Boston Mayor’s Reaction
On July 20th, Boston mayor Thomas Menino sent a letter to Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy denouncing the company’s stance on gay marriage (shown below). The same day, the Boston Herald[9] published an interview with Menino, in which he stated he was looking to block Chick-fil-A from opening any restaurants in the city.
Jim Henson Company Toys
On July 20th, 2012, The Jim Henson Company posted an update on their official Facebook[8] page announcing they had notified Chick-fil-A that they no longer wished to partner with them in the future and that they would donate the payments they received from the company to the LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Online Reaction
On July 25th, 2012, Redditor absurd_olfaction submitted a post to the /r/atheism subreddit titled “Chick-fil-A damage control FAIL”, which included a screenshot of a Facebook post in which a user profile is exposed for being fake (shown below). A Facebook[6] event was created for “National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A”, which urged people to document themselves kissing a member of the same sex at a Chick-fil-A on August 3rd, 2012.
On YouTube
Several prominent YouTubers uploaded videos chiming in on the controversy, including mention over a proposed boycott (shown below, bottom, right) and a cooking guide for making a “Chick-Fil-Gay” sandwich (shown below, bottom, left).
Antoine Dodson’s Reaction
On July 25th, 2012, Antoine Dodson uploaded a video to YouTube titled “Chick-fil-A?”, showing Dodson drinking from a Chick-fil-A cup while defending his choice to eat at the restaurant. The same day, Dodson uploaded another video titled “Ya’ll made me pull my hair back lol!”, in which he argued that boycotting the restaurant would only hurt the Chick-fil-A’s employees.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Metro Weekly – Is Chick-fil-A restaurant against gay rights? Anti-gay site claims affiliation with fast-food eatery
[2] Facebook – Chick-fil-A
[3] Equality Matters – Chick-Fil-A Donated Nearly $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2009
[4] Equality Matters – Chick-Fil-A Donated Nearly $2 Million to Anti-Gay Groups in 2010
[5] Christian Post – Chick-fil-A President Says God’s Judgment Coming Because of Same-Sex Marriage
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/chick-fil-a-president-says-gods-judgment-coming-because-of-same-sex-marriage-78485/#ax4Xs6gC15io8sLs.99
[6] Facebook – National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick Fil A
[7] Reddit – Chick-fil-a damage control FAIL
[8] Facebook – Jim Henson Company
[9] The Boston Herald – Mayor Menino on Chick-fil-A