Chick-fil-A has a long history of supporting anti-gay organizations. Chick-fil-A has also promoted the anti-gay group Focus on the Family via toys and CDs with links to it’s websites included in children’s meal and also does cross-promotion with Focus on the Family.
Scotland’s only Chick-Fil-A which opened in the food court of the Macdonald Aviemore Resort in October, has been closed after a furious public backlash over its funding of anti-LGBT causes.
After opening a spokeswoman for the Macdonald Aviemore Resort said:“Chick-fil-A is an enormously successful business, with over 2,300 restaurants in the US, and we are pleased to have them invest in the Aviemore economy, where the restaurant is proving extremely popular. It’s vital to underline that, in both our recruitment and our customer care, we treat everyone with respect, regardless of race, religion, sexuality or gender.”
In 2017 alone, Chick-Fil-A contributed over $1.8 million into anti-LGBT organisations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which requires staff to accept “sexual purity” and opposes same-sex marriage.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie encouraged a boycott of the restaurant and other MacDonald hotels across the country, urging the chain to “end their commercial relationship with sponsors of prejudice and hatred.”
A petition to have the eatery removed from the hotel attracted more than 1,200 signature on Change.org.
A brief statement posted on the resort’s website reads: “Our pop-up restaurant Chick-fil-A is closing on Saturday, January 18.”
Scotland’s only Chick-fil-A closing comes on the heels of England’s only UK based franchise closing in Reading last year after opting not to extend its licence beyond the initial six-month period after another backlash for the same reasons.
Chick-fil-A, the controversial American fast food brand, famous as much for its donations to anti-LGBT organisations as it is for fried chicken sandwiches, is being forced to close its first U.K. restaurant. It opened only eight days ago.
The company, which appeared to be at the beginning of a major European expansion, opened at the Oracle shopping centre in Reading on 10 October. It will now close after pressure from local gay rights groups and a media row around the causes it has historically supported.
The Oracle shopping centre said it would not renew its lease and that it “was the right thing to do” but did not address why it had offered the lease in the first place, given Chick-fil-A’s controversial record was well-known.
In 2010 this website broke the first story about Chick-Fil-A’s involvement with hate groups when we exposed the fact that they were sponsoring in part an event with Cincinnati’s rabidly anti-gay group the Citizens for Community Values and also donated to other hate groups across the country
Five years ago Chick-fil-A chairman and CEO Dan Cathy vowed to stay out of the LGBT debate and focus on chicken issuing a statement that the company will “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect-regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation and gender.”
Well it seems you can’t teach an old chicken new tricks.
While the company’s non-profit arms scaled back support for some of the groups that actively push an anti-gay agenda, the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s most recent IRS filings show it gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to anti-LGBT organizations in 2015.
Chick-fil-A Foundation gave more than $1 million in 2015 (nearly one-sixth of its total grants) to the the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The religious organization, which seeks to utilize athletes and coaches to spread Christian teachings, imparts a strongly anti-LGBT message. Staff and volunteers with the organization have been required to adhere to a strict “sexual purity” policy, prohibiting any “homosexual acts,” even for married couples. The group takes the view that, “The Bible is clear in teaching on sexual sin including sex outside of marriage and homosexual acts. Neither heterosexual sex outside of marriage nor any homosexual act constitute an alternative lifestyle acceptable to God.”
The foundation also gave more than $200,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a Georgia-based “transformative organization” that operates a “Christian residential home for troubled youth.” Focusing on boys, their teachings include the idea that the “sexual, physical, and mental abuse of children, mostly in the alleged ‘safety’ of their own homes has produced all kinds of evil throughout the culture to include the explosion of homosexuality in the last century.” The myth that people are LGBTQ due to abuse is a claim frequently made by anti-LGBTQ organizations to promote harmful “ex-gay” therapy.
You may have caught a Chick-fil-A commercial during the Grammys, which uses Starship’s (the band that formed from Jefferson Starship, which formed from Jefferson Airplane) “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” as the musical backdrop for a series of clips in which oddly placed cows advocate for people to “eat more chicken.” Grace Slick — the former vocalist for all of the above bands — published a piece in Forbes explainingwhy: she’s taking the money from the commercial and donating it all to an LGBT rights group Lambda Legal. (The ONLY LGBT rights group that this website will actually endorse at this moment. Divest from HRC and give to Lambda Legal)
Well conman grifter Franklin Graham has a few crazed words to say about Slick and her donation to Lambda Legal.
“Jefferson Airplane band’s now 77 year-old lead singer Grace Slick has announced that the money she receives from the use of her song in a Chick-fil-A ad (bought by an ad agency) will go to fund LGBTQ causes. What I want Grace and others to know is that Almighty God created and defined marriage in His Word. Any sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sin, and all sin carries a death sentence.
“But God loves mankind so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to save us from the death penalty of sin. He is willing to forgive the sin in our lives if we will call on Him in faith. He is the only one who can bring the healing and transformation our hearts need. Grace, it’s my hope and prayer that you will put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ because He loves you very much.” – Franklin Graham, spouting more religious extremist bullshit on his Facebook page.
Earlier this week in a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chick-fil-A CEO and President Dan Cathy said he plans to no longer speak out on gay marriage. “You learn from those mistakes,” Cathy said. “If not, you’re just a fool. I’m thankful that I lived through it and I learned a lot from it.”
Cathy made news two years ago with his criticism of gay marriage, which prompted a investigation into Chick-fil-A’s charitable givimg and the realization that WinShape, CFA’s charitable division had been donating heavily to so called “christian” groups that fight against LGBT equality. Since the exposure donations to such group have dropped dramatically. But it must be added have not stopped.
“Probably the elements that were stressful for me most is from our internal staff and from operators and how this may be affecting them,” Cathy said. “The bottom line is we have a responsibility here to keep the whole of the organization in mind and it has to take precedence over the personal expression and opinion on social issues.”
Well Cathy’s remarks did not go noticed by two of his most anti-gay lunatics hate group leaders and supporters “Porno Pete” LaBarbera of American’s for Truth about Homosexuality and Bryan J. Fister Fischer of the American Family Association who got together via telephone on Fischer’s propaganda filled radio show and indignantly choked their chickens together over Chick-Fil-A’s “supposed” shifting tone after they went out and supported it on Chick-Fil-A day
“The ultimate goal of homosexual-rights activists is not to legalize same-sex marriage. Rather, it is to silence those who disagree with them and, if necessary, to throw them in jail. In a world in which the biblical viewpoint of marriage is demonized, it does not take a constitutional scholar to predict that soon those who hold that view will find themselves in court. How did we get to the point where homosexual-rights activists would be clamoring to redefine society’s oldest and most reliable institution and people of faith would be worried about being fined or jailed for teaching their faith?”
Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy – Still serving that HATE sandwich Cathy tweeted and then deleted the above message. The company’s spokesman has refused to discuss the tweet
“I don’t think it was appropriate. I think it was wrong. [snip] I’ve made it very clear since 2009 that I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I’ve said that, I ran on that, I’ve said it consistently. That doesn’t mean, in any way shape or form, that I have anything against folks who are homosexual. In fact, I’ve said I believe people are born that way. I don’t believe it’s a choice … you were born with your sexual preference. But I believe that the institution of marriage for 2,000 years has been between a man and a woman.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, headed by Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Archbishop and drunk driver Salvatore Cordileone –
“Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation. The Supreme Court has dealt a profound injustice to the American people by striking down in part the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Court got it wrong. The federal government ought to respect the truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, even where states fail to do so. The preservation of liberty and justice requires that all laws, federal and state, respect the truth, including the truth about marriage. It is also unfortunate that the Court did not take the opportunity to uphold California’s Proposition 8 but instead decided not to rule on the matter. The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage. Now is the time to redouble our efforts in witness to this truth. These decisions are part of a public debate of great consequence. The future of marriage and the well-being of our society hang in the balance.”
Yes On 8 President Andy Pugno –
“California’s Constitution says that only an appellate court, not a single trial court judge, can stop a proposition’s enforcement statewide. As of today, there is no such ruling. Nevertheless, the Governor and Attorney General today rushed forward with plans to make same-sex ‘marriage’ licenses available throughout California in the next three or four weeks. And that is where it sits this evening. Our Legal Team is closely examining today’s court rulings, and assessing what, if any, options are available to us to keep Proposition 8 in force. This is a time for careful consideration and discernment, and we thank you in advance for your patience and continued support.”
Family Research Council hate group leader Tony Perkins –
“By a single vote, five unelected justices determined that they know better than God and struck at the heart of marriage in America. It was a powerful rebuke of a law FRC helped develop, the Defense of Marriage Act, but not the final blow. Fortunately, conservative leaders across our country aren’t about to let that happen. In interview after interview, tweet after tweet, the message echoed from Governor’s mansions to congressional floors: we are not giving up. It started with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and flooded the wires since then. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) vowed to lead the fight for a Federal Marriage Amendment. Governor Mike Pence (R-IN) said he would use today’s rulings as motivation to work even harder for a state marriage amendment. Are these rulings demoralizing? Definitely. But we will not let a court’s definition of marriage define us.”
National Organization for Marriage Million Dollar Hate group leader Brian Brown, (typing through an unending flood of bitter, bitter tears.) –
“I am furious about what the Court has done. We at NOM and tens of millions of other Americans will never accept it. It’s wrong, plain and simple. There’s a stench to these decisions that has stained the Supreme Court. Will you show your outrage at the Court and make a special contribution to allow NOM to coalesce Americans behind a national movement to preserve marriage? Please make an urgent, emergency financial contribution to our Win More States fund — today. The work that NOM does has never been more urgently needed than it is right now, and we are totally dependent on you, our faithful supporters, to help us continue the fight. Will you join us in expressing your outrage? Please make an emergency contribution right now so that we can immediately launch a nationwide grassroots effort to protest the decisions, and preserve marriage in the 38 states that have laws in place defending marriage.”
“For thousands of years of recorded human history, no society has defended the legal standard of marriage as anything other than between man and woman. Only since 2000 have we seen a redefinition of this foundational unit of society in various nations. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to join the trend, despite the clear will of the people’s representatives through DOMA. What the Court has done will undermine the best interest of children and the best interests of the United States.”
Save California head Randy Thomasson (whose hate gravy train has just derailed) –
“Sexual behavior does not constitute a civil right, but the Supreme Court has done vast damage to man-woman marriage, the foundation of the natural family. The high court’s refusal to correct the unconstitutional rulings of lower-court judges and the dereliction of duty by constitution-bound state officials demonstrates that not only is natural, man-woman marriage no longer respected but neither is our republic and system of written laws. Because the high court didn’t care about protecting natural marriage or even the initiative process, they have allowed unnatural, homosexual ‘marriages’ to resume in California as role models for children. Today, marriage, children, and the rule of law all suffer.”
“The Supreme Court has just abandoned 7 million voters, giving us no justice and no access to the courts.. The California Supreme Court made it clear that the proponents of Prop 8 are delegated the right to defend the law if state official refuse to do so. But after accepting standing in DOMA because. . .well because it wanted to, the majority of the Supreme Court justices simply punted unable to recognize a clear injustice in kicking out of court people who have devoted thousands of hours to the democratic process –and $3 million to the defense of the law–that the Court today treats as beggars with no interest in the outcome.”
It’s the same old story that has happened too many times where a loving devoted couple are making wedding plans that are interrupted because of someone with “religious convictions” preventing them to provide a service they’re paid to do. After proposing to her fiance, Lindsay Tadych, at Disney World Jami Howard wanted to make a custom made Disney themed wedding book for the guests at their upcoming wedding. Howard reported that correspondence between her and the business owner she was commissioning to design the wedding book changed once she found out she was a lesbian. Here’s the response the owner gave the couple:
After talking with my pastor and praying about the situation, I decided that I shouldn’t design your guestbook for you.
Please know that I did take this into much thought though. Because I am a Christian and I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, I feel that designing a customized guestbook for you two will be against my belief and will mean that who I am and my business supports gay marriages.
Howard later attempted to contact the higher ups in the Etsy company only to receive a vague non-answer to her inquiry of this discrimination incident that we’ve heard too many times before:
As you can imagine, legal issues, such as matters concerning discrimination, are often very complex. We respect each community member’s right to their personal opinions and beliefs, and with 25 million members around the world, expect that some members may disagree with each other. The opinions and beliefs of members may not reflect those of Etsy, Inc. or Etsy employees. If a member thinks that discrimination has occurred and constitutes a legal infraction in their location, they may choose to address the issue directly with the other party, or contact an attorney for legal assistance.
Now the question is was this authorized, even sanctioned by the owners of this company since they do have the right to refuse service to anyone so long as its done through the proper channels? If that is the case then this company is practicing the same amount of tolerance that Chick Fil A so righteously claims. There’s no definite answer to that but why not take this opportunity to address whether or not this was a religious beliefs of one person working for the company or if this is a company motto?
Zach Ford of Think Progress is reporting that from searching Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Foundation’s IRS 990’s for 2011 it has discovered that the companies anti-LGBT donations have nearly DOUBLED in 2011 compared to 2010.
Most of Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Foundation’s anti-LGBT giving in previous years went to groups like the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380 in 2010), the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes ($480,000 in 2010), and the National Christian Foundation ($247,500). Additionally, the group made small donations to the “ex-gay” group Exodus International ($1,000) and the hate group Family Research Council ($1,000).
In 2011, the group actually gave even more to anti-LGBT causes. Its contribution to the Marriage & Family Foundation jumped to $2,896,438 and it gave the same amount to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Christian Foundation as it had in 2010. In total, the anti-LGBT spending exceeded $3.6 million — almost double the $1.9 million from the year before.
While the group gave nothing directly to Exodus International or FRC, a large amount of Chick-fil-A/WinShape money still made its way to those groups. The National Christian Foundation (aka the National Christian Charitable Foundation) gave $4,100 to Exodus International and a stunning $1,260,040 to to the Family Research Council. This was possible, in part, because of the $247,500 it received directly from WinShape and because the WinShape-backed Marriage & Family Foundation also transferred $870,834 to the group — the self-described “largest Christian grant-making foundation in the world.”
This must come as a HUGE surprise to Shane Windmeyer of Campus Pride who’s been holding dialogues and has developed a “special friendship” with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy.
This past week Chick-fil-A shared with me the 2011 IRS Form 990, filed in November for the WinShape Foundation, along with 2012 financials. The IRS has not released the 990 to the public yet, but the financials affirm Chick-fil-A’s values a year prior to the controversy this past July. The nearly $6 million in outside grant funding focuses on youth, education, marriage enrichment and local communities. The funding reflects Chick-fil-A’s promised commitment not to engage in “political or social debates,” and the most divisive anti-LGBT groups are no longer listed.
Well Shane, at least you were partially right. Chick-fil-A just gave money to organizatiosn that IN TURN GAVE IT TO the most heinous anti-LGBT groups.
Perhaps Shane never heard of the age-old saying. “Don’t count your Chick-fil-A ‘s before they’re hatched.”
Even after the nostalgia of last weeks election in which four states passed pro-gay laws, comes some sobering and very disturbing news. What can be described as a modern day witch hunt, the African nation of Uganda is set to officially pass a law that would make homosexuality legally punishable by death.
Speaker of the Ugandan government, Rebecca Kadaga, says that most Ugandans want the law to pass. Speaker Kadaga also disgustingly refers to the new law set to pass in December as a “Christmas Gift”. In what world would this ever be a gift? What a horrible human being.
According to Gay Star News, there would be two categories of the law, and not that the law disgustingly groups homosexuals with pedophiles:
‘Aggravated homosexuality’ is defined as gay acts committed by parents or authority figures, HIV-positive people, pedophiles and repeat offenders. If convicted, they will face the death penalty.
The ‘offense of homosexuality’ includes same-sex sexual acts or being in a gay relationship, and will be prosecuted by life imprisonment.
As we have discussed here as well as other LGBT sites have found is that groups like Chick Fil A donate to in their pro-family agenda. Will they still support such disgusting behavior?
Many were hoping that the US elections last week would have a positive effect on gay rigthts, not only here but around the world. And though yes I do believe that it could influence government in a good way, we as a community have a long way to go. This is disgusting. And so sad.
