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Has Chick-fil-A Turned Gay-Friendly? Not Really By Sergio N. Candido
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hat made Chick-fil-A head The LGBT community and its allies Dan Cathy change his instead chose to do protests outside mind on the company’s Chick-fil-A restaurants and buy stance regarding gays? products from pro-gay companies. That’s still not clear, but the company has Human Rights Campaign, however, now come out affirming it will stop donating dismissed the memo as a publicity stunt. money to anti-gay groups. Well, kind of. “CfA offers their LGBT employees nothing The Civil Rights Agenda, a Chicago- but platitudes; they certainly don’t offer based LGBT group, reports in a press them any benefits or protections,” HRC release that Chick-fil-A has agreed to spokesman Fred Sainz told the Advocate. cut funds for religious, conservative “Their statements are completely empty groups that lobbied against gay marriage. unless they back them up with actions.” TCRA served as adviser to Chicago To make things worse, on Sept. 18, Alderman Joe Moreno during the Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy tweeted negotiation of these concessions with the a photo from the 2012 WinShape Ride for executives at Chick-fil-A; exactly what those the Family. The photo showed a group of negotiations were about remains unclear. bikers and said: “WinShape Ride for the But the LGBT group says the friend Family bikers locked and loaded for 200 chicken company has declared in an mile ride to Wilmington out of Charleston.” internal document that The event was in it “will treat every person essence a fundraiser equally, regardless of for the Marriage and sexual orientation.” Family Foundation, “We are very pleased an organization that’s with this outcome and against gay marriage. thank Alderman Moreno The Marriage and Family for his work on this Foundation, formerly issue,” Anthony Martinez, known as the Marriage executive director of TCRA, and Family Legacy Fund, said in the statement. received donations of over “I think the most $2 million dollars in 2009 substantive part of this and 2012 from Chick-fil-A. outcome is that Chick-fil-A In total, the company has ceased donating to has donated about $5 organizations that promote million to anti-gay groups. discrimination, specifically Registrations forms against LGBT civil rights. for the event asked that It has taken months of checks be sent, not to the discussion, both with our WinShape Foundation Dan Cathy - President of Chick-fil-A organization and with the that Chick-fil-A operates, Alderman, for Chick-fil-A to come forward but directly to the Marriage and Family with these concessions and we feel this is a Foundation, according to the Advocate. strong step forward for Chick-fil-A and the Rick Garcia, policy advisor for TCRA, LGBT community, although it is only a step.” hopes that the next step for the company This past summer, Chick-fil-A and would be to adopt an anti-discrimination the company’s president, Dan Cathy, policy for its employees to prove that were at the center of a media storm it really is willing to be gay-friendly. when Cathy declared himself “guilty as “As we have heard from gay employees charged” of supporting anti-gay causes that work for Chick-fil-A, there is a culture with millions of dollars in donations. of discrimination within the company and The issue divided the nation and we would like to ensure that employees can sparked protests all over. Those backing speak out and call attention to those practices “traditional family values” supported the without fear of reprisal,” Garcia said. company by consuming its products on “It takes time to change the culture of Aug. 1 during “Chick-fil-A Appreciation any institution and steps like a corporate Day,” an event spearheaded by former policy ensure that progress is made.” presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
September 26, 2012 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com
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