BY NOREEN FAGAN – I have always hated Chick-fil-A, a US fast-food chain with strong conservative ties. Now, thanks to an article in The Advocate, I can actively loathe them.
The Georgia-based chain has never hidden its evangelical side. As far as I know it is the only fast-food restaurant that closes on Sundays so staff and customers can go to church and pray, hence its nickname of “Jesus Chicken.”
Early this year a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-A restaurant was embroiled in a controversy regarding its donation to an event put on by the group Family Life called “The Art of Marriage: Getting to the Heart of God’s Design.”
Gay rights groups in the state hit back with vengeance. Students at some universities tried to have the chain banned from campuses, and local newspapers ran such headlines as “If you’re eating Chick-fil-A, you’re eating anti-gay.”
According to The New York Times, the outcry prompted Dan T Cathy, president of the company, to state that he and his company “value all people and treat everyone with honour, dignity and respect.”
Not so.
An Equality Matters investigation discovered that the company’s charitable arm, WinShape, donated more than $2 million (US) to anti-gay groups in 2009 alone.
Here’s the breakdown:
Marriage & Family Legacy Fund: $994,199
Fellowship of Christian Athletes:$480,000
National Christian Foundation: $240,000
Focus on the Family: $12,500
Eagle Forum: $5,000
Exodus International: $1,000
Family Research Council: $1,000
If you want to know how scary these organizations are, check them out at Equality Matters.
And remember: if you are visiting the US, “if you’re eating Chick-fil-A, you’re eating anti-gay.”
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