(KATV) The President of Chick-Fil-A
is speaking out for the first time since his controversial remarks about gay
marriage.
You'll recall, Dan Cathy
came under fire after saying he believe in the biblical definition of marriage between
a man and a woman. Though, Cathy said he loves and respects anyone who
disagrees. In an interview over the
weekend, he said his company has always been clear about its support for
traditional families. "Families are very important to our country, they're very
important, I think, to all of us who are concerned about being able to hang on
to the heritage that we have. We support Biblical families, and we've always
been a part of that."
Critics of Cathy's earlier
comment accused Chick-Fil-A of discrimination. The fast food giant says it does
not discriminate against anyone.
Previous Story July 27,
2012:
Arkansas Group Encourages Participation
in Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day
(KATV,
Source, Family Council) On Friday, Family Council President Jerry Cox thanked
former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's decision to spearhead a nationwide
Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, which will take place all day Wednesday, August
1.
"I
want to thank my friend, Governor Huckabee, for using his influence to amass
national support for Chick-fil-A,"Cox said. "They have been viciously
attacked simply because their President and COO, Dan Cathy, publicly reaffirmed
his company's Christian principles. We are encouraging Arkansans to eat at the
nearest Chick-fil-A on
August
1stto show support for this great American company. We are also
asking folks to write a note of appreciation to Chick-fil-A at
FamilyCouncil.org. Every note that we collect will be delivered to each
restaurant in Arkansas and to the corporate office in Atlanta. These simple
actions will show Chick-fil-A that they are appreciated.
In
the end, we hope that their strong stand for Christian values will encourage
other businesses to do the same.
"The
Family Council staff will be having lunch at one of the Chick-fil-A locations
in Little Rock on August 1st,"Cox said. "We are proud to support this
company and also help local business at the same time."
Governor
Huckabee issued a statement, saying, "When I heard of the vicious hate
speech and economic bullying being directed toward the Cathy family and their
Chick-Fil-A company, it was stunning. In the name of ‘tolerance' a group was
exercising extreme intolerance and trying to censor a citizen by threatening
his business. When mayors of major cities like Boston and Chicago actually went
on the record to say they would stop a business from opening in their city
because they didn't agree with the fact that the CEO of the company supported
Biblical marriage, it was time to take a stand. I'm thrilled that the Family
Council is expressing affirmation for the rights of citizens to be free of
being bullied by illegal government threats."
Cox
said he really does not see why Mr. Cathy's position should be treated as
controversially as it has been. "In 2004,more than seventy-percent of
Arkansas voters affirmed the traditional definition of marriage when they
passed the Arkansas Marriage Amendment. Some forty states, including Illinois,
have laws and amendments to that same effect.
Mr.
Cathy is not the one who is outside the mainstream on this issue. Those trying
to censor him are. All we want to do, between allowing people to write to
Chick-fil-A via our website and promoting Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, is give
people a way to reiterate that support."
The
Atlanta-based company's questionable contributions have been reported and the
subject of a number of high-profile protests.
This
year, Equality Matters published a newly-released analysis of Chick-fil-A's
charitable work that found that the fast food chain donated nearly $2 million
to anti-gay groups over the course of 2010.
Among
those to reportedly receive donations through Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation
were the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380), Exodus International
($1,000) and the Family Research Council (also $1,000).
There are now social media pages and websites
about boycotting the chain.
Dan Cathy
