As a loyal Chick-fil-A customer for many years, I have always been aware of the company’s strong religious values, mostly because i could never get my #8 combo meal on any given Sunday. However, considering the fact that Chick-fil-A President and COO, Dan Cathy, spoke out against gay marriage earlier this summer, from now on I will be taking my business elsewhere.
Many can infer that because of the Cathy family’s Southern Baptist faith, the family is not a supporter of gay marriage. But, what people do not realize is that for at least the past nine years, Chick-Fil-A has been donating their money to various anti-gay organizations.
According to a July 2012 Equality Matters report, between 2003 and 2010 Chick-fil-A donated at least $3 million to several anti-gay organizations. The Cathy family themselves founded one of these organizations. The Marriage & Family Foundation. The company also supports the National Christian Foundation, Exodus International and Family Research Council.
In 2010, Chick-fil-A donated over $1 million to The Marriage & Family Foundation, whose mission is to create a national media campaign supporting the idea that a stable marriage can only be between a man and a woman. Other fast food restaurants, like McDonalds and burger Kind, are more wisely donating their money to important organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House, Wildlife Conservation Society and National Parks Conservation Association.
Clearly Chick-fil-A does not have its priorities straight if it feels that promoting their idea of marriage is a more pressing issue than giving a family a place to live while their child recieves medical treatment.
In response to this controversy, several colleges have suspended Chick-fil-A from their campuses. Students of Northeastern University signed a petition that stopped plans for a Chick-fil-A on campus because of the company’s history of donating to anti-gay organizations. Davidson College is the latest college to suspend Chick-fil-A from its campus.
According to a July 2012 YouGovBrand Index chart, a website that measures people’s perception of restaurants, Chick-fil-A’s “Quick Service Restaurant” (QSR) score sunk from a high 65 to a below average 39 within a week and a half of Cathy’s remarks, proving that his decision was unpopular with many internet-using customers.
Before Cathy shared his beliefs regarding same sex marriage, the Jim Henson Company and Chick-fil-A partnered to distribute Muppet toys in every Chick-fil-A kids’ meal. However, once Cathy’s comments flooded popular social media sites, the Jim Henson Comapny terminated all relations with the company and took the previously earned profits from the deal and donated them to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Agaisnt Defamation foundation. If Kermit will not eat a Chick-fil-A sandwhich, how can you?
Along with the Jim Henson Company, several celeberties have reached out to the public through social media to take a stance against Chick-fil-A. Some of these celebrities include Ed Helms, Steve Martin, Zachary Quinto, Lisa Vanderpump, Roseanne Bar and Perez Hilton. All of these people will no longer spend any money at Chick-fil-A, probably in the hopes that you will do the same. Instead of wasting you hard-earned money at a place where it will ultimately end up in the hands of an organization that does not support marrying someone you love, you should consider buying things from Amazon, General Mills, Microsoft, Target or Starbucks, all of which support gay marriage. Or perhaps just skip the chicken sandwich and opt for a burger.
