Months after the Chik-Fil-A controversy, the company president Dan Cathy said in an interview with Atlanta TV station WXIA said he stands by his words against same-sex marriage. Cathy said that he supports "biblical families" and "those of us who are concerned about being able to hang on to our heritage," as reported by the Associated Press.
Cathy made the comments at an event he hosted at his private ranch in Georgia.
Over the summer, Cathy created quite a controversy when he said that he only supported, "the biblical definition of the family unit," according to the New York Times. No sooner did he make the statement that it turned into a controversy on same-sex marriage no doubt, but also on one's First-Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee created a "Chik-fil-A Appreciation Day" event on Facebook. Approximately 60,000 supporters showed up at various Chick-fil-A locations.
But while Huckabee intention was to "affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values," many of the supporters who showed up at the City Crystal Virginia location were not there to support Cathy's stance on same-sex marriage, but rather his right to have an opinion and voice it, without being reprimanded.
"I think it comes down to a First Amendment issue. I mean, I do believe in the traditional values of marriage between a man and a woman," Stephen Lenahan told Fox News.
Of course there were also plenty of people who were there to show their support for the cause of preserving the traditional form of marriage, these supporters including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Soon after that, a number of gay-activists gathered in front of as many as 1,600 Chik-fil-A store locations and shared a kiss to celebrate "Same-Sex Kiss Day," At many of the locations; protestors were given a free treat. In Wichita, Kansas locations activists were all given chicken sandwiches; in a Georgia location they were given lemonade.
Rollin Longino, held up a sign that said, "I had two dads and I turned out alright!"
The "Same-Sex Kiss Day" was created on the social media site Facebook by political activist 24-year-old Carly McGehee, who told Reuters that the fast food chain restaurant "is continuously supporting hate and bigotry and intolerance...He (Cathy) has the right to do that, but he has to be prepared for the backlash, for the repercussions. This is America." The event on Facebook is called "Let's show Chick-fil-A thanks for their support of Love, Equality, and the Real Definition of Marriage!" and has as many as 15,000 people signed up.
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