Seems you just can’t clog your arteries anymore without someone raising a stink about it.
But the current controversy swirling around the Chick-fil-A fast food chain isn’t about deep-fried deliciousness. It’s about remarks that company president Dan Cathy gave to the Baptist Press last week, when the publication asked about his company’s "support of the traditional family."
*Click the box on the right to watch video from Thursday's protest. -->
"Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy. "We are very much supportive of the family—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 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."
In a later radio interview on the Ken Coleman show, Cathy said this:
"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about.”
After that, same-sex marriage proponents flipped Cathy the bird, not too surprising since the company allegedly has a history of donating money to anti-gay groups. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino vowed to block any Chick-fil-A outlets from opening in his city. And the Jim Henson Co. severed its agreement to supply toys for the chain's kiddie meals.
On the other side, onetime Arkansas governor and Fox News talking head Mike Huckabee declared "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," and called on everyone to support the chain by eating there on Aug. 1. Ironically, the once-hefty Huckabee penned a book titled Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork.
Which brings us to Thursday in Laguna Hills, where a new Chick-fil-A opened to the public at 6 a.m. As is Chick-fil-A tradition, the first 100 customers of any new restaurant receive a free meal each week for a year. (Yes, there were people who camped out overnight for this.)
They were greeted, however, by a group of about 30 protesters organized by the youth activist arm of the Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County. According to the Huffington Post, the demonstration interfered with the planned grand opening ceremony, and the outlet owners sent their fans home early with their food.
Most of the protesters had scattered by the time Patch arrived on the scene, but there were still smatterings on both sides of the issue who were willing to engage in a lively game of I Can Yell My Opinion Louder Than You Can Yell Yours.
Click the video at the top of the page and see what happened ...
*How do you feel about the Chick-fil-A controversy? Vote in our poll and spout off in the comments box below!
