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Reaction

Dan Cathy's statements spawned almost immediate reaction from both sides of the controversy.

Local government reactions

After these interviews, Thomas Menino, the Mayor of Boston, stated that he would not allow the company to open franchises in the city "unless they open up their policies.” Menino subsequently wrote a letter to Dan Cathy, citing Cathy's earlier statement on The Ken Coleman Show and responded: "We are indeed full of pride for our support of same sex marriage and our work to expand freedom for all people." In Chicago, alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno announced his determination to block Chick-fil-A's bid to build a second store in the city: "They'd have to do a complete 180", Moreno said in outlining conditions under which he would retract the block. "They'd have to work with LGBT groups in terms of hiring, and there would have to be a public apology from ."

Moreno received backing from Chicago's Mayor, Rahm Emanuel: "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values", Emanuel said in a statement. "They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty." San Francisco soon followed suit on July 26 when mayor Edwin M. Lee tweeted, "Very disappointed #ChickFilA doesn't share San Francisco's values & strong commitment to equality for everyone." Lee followed that tweet with "Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer."

The proposed bans in Boston and Chicago drew criticism from liberal pundits, legal experts and the American Civil Liberties Union. Kevin Drum of Mother Jones magazine said "here's really no excuse for Emanuel's and Menino's actions... you don't hand out business licenses based on whether you agree with the political views of the executives. Not in America, anyway." UCLA law professor and blogger Eugene Volokh observed, "enying a private business permits because of such speech by its owner is a blatant First Amendment violation." Echoing those views were Glenn Greenwald of Salon, professor John Turley of George Washington University, Adam Schwartz, a senior attorney with the ACLU and Michael C. Dorf, the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell University Law School.

Boycott, petitions and protests

Students at several colleges and universities launched grassroots efforts to ban or remove the company's restaurants from their campuses. On November 3, 2011, the New York University Student Senators Council voted 19 to 4 to retain the Chick-fil-A franchise on campus. This vote came before a petition with over 11,000 signatures opposing its presence on campus was sent to the student council. On February 28, 2012, the Northeastern University (NU) student senate passed a resolution to cancel plans for a Chick-fil-A franchise on campus, stating that "the student body does not support bringing CFA to campus", and "Student concerns reflected CFA's history of donating to anti-gay organizations." The vote was 31 to 5, with 8 abstaining. The restaurant chain was finalizing a contract to bring it to NU when students protested. Davidson College in North Carolina announced on August 13, 2011 that, in response to a petition which received 500 signatures, the school will stop serving Chick-fil-A on campus at the monthly After Midnight events.

Other forms of protest occurred. Gay rights activists organized a "Kiss Off" to occur on August 3, an event where LGBT individuals would show affection in public, however it attracted smaller than hoped for crowds.

Chick-fil-A partner's reactions

In response to the July 2 interview, the Jim Henson Company, which had entered its Pajanimals in a kids' meal toy licensing arrangement in 2011, said that it would cease its business relationship with Chick-fil-A, and donate payment for the brand to Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Citing safety concerns, Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the toys. A spokeswoman stated the decision had been made July 19 and was unrelated to the controversy.

In August 2012, progressive groups delivered petitions with over 80,000 signatures to publisher HarperCollins demanding that the publisher cut plans to include Berenstain Bears titles as part of a kids' meal promotion. Upon being presented with petitions demanding that Berenstain Bears be pulled from a Chick-fil-A promotion, HarperCollins issued a statement saying "We have a long history of diversity and inclusiveness and work tirelessly to protect the freedom of expression. It is not our practice to cancel a contract with an author, or any other party, for exercising their first amendment rights."

Chick-fil-A appreciation day

In response to the controversy, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee initiated a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day movement to counter a boycott of Chick-fil-A launched by gay marriage activists. More than 600,000 people RSVPed on Facebook for Huckabee's appreciation event.

On August 1, Chick-fil-A restaurants experienced a large show of public support across the nation with the company reporting record-breaking sales. A consulting firm projected that the average Chick-fil-A restaurant increased sales by 29.9 percent and had 367 more customers than a typical Wednesday.

References

1. Turner, Greg (July 20, 2012). "Mayor Menino on Chick-fil-A: Stuff it". The Boston Herald. Retrieved July 21, 2012. Chick-fil-A doesn't belong in Boston. You can't have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We're an open city, we're a city that's at the forefront of inclusion... That's the Freedom Trail. That's where it all started right here. And we're not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.
2. "Mayor's letter to Chick-fil-A". The Boston Herald. July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
3. ^ Dardick, Hal (July 25, 2012). "Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No deal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
4. Lopez, Ricardo (July 26, 2012). "San Francisco is the third city to tell Chick-fil-A: Keep out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
5. Drum, Kevin (July 26, 2012). "Rahm Emanuel Needs to Back Off on Chick-fil-A". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
6. McClelland, Edward (July 26, 2012). "Conservatives and Liberals Defend Chick-fil-A". Ward Room. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
7. Miller, Joshua Rhett (July 26, 2012). "Legal eagles cry fowl over politicians' plans to block Chick-fil-A". Fox News. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
8. Dorf, Michael C. (August 1, 2012). "Why the Chick-fil-A Controversy Raises Tough Questions About Government Power to Regulate Business Based on Owners' Political Spending". Verdict. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
9. "NYU Decided To Keep "Homophobic" Chick-fil-A Long Before Petition Launched".
10. Rocheleau, Matt (February 28, 2012). "Northeastern cancels Chick-fil-A plans after student group denounces chain". Boston Globe. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
11. Broverman, Neal (August 13, 2012). "N.C. University Suspends Relationship With Chick-fil-A". Advocate. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
12. Lauren Williams; Ruben Vives; Rosanna Xia (4 August 2012). "Chick-fil-A 'Kiss in' protest small compared to appreciation day". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
13. Matthew T. Hall (3 August 2012). "Hall: Gay-rights supporters kiss in, kiss off Chick-fil-A". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
14. Peyser, Andrea (4 August 2012). "Chicken lips are scarce: Great gay kiss-off lays a gigantic egg". New York Post. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
15. Cite error: The named reference dm23Jul was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
16. Rose, Annie (July 25, 2012). "Chick-fil-A Backlash: Politicians, Muppets Respond". ABC News Video. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
17. Lendon, Brad (July 24, 2012). "Henson, Huckabee take sides in Chick-fil-A same-sex marriage controversy". CNN.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
18. Hsu, Tiffany (28 July 2012). "Chick-fil-A's PR chief dies suddenly amid gay-marriage imbroglio". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
19. "Chick-fil-A Contact Us". Retrieved July 30, 2012.
20. Curtis Wong. Chick-Fil-A Recalling Jim Henson Kids' Meal Toys As Partnership Severed Over Anti-Gay Donations. The Huffington Post, 07/24/2012
21. Fabrikant, Mel (August 8, 2012). "Progressive Groups Petition Harpercollins To Let The Berenstain Bears Break Up With Anti-Gay Chick-Fil-A". The Paramus Post. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
22. Goddard, Jacqui. "Gay rights come to Toy Town as Chick-fil-A battle continues." The Telegraph, 2012-08-13
23. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/chick-fil-supporters-gather-appreciation-day/story?id=16904664#.UBnyts3Nmw8
24. ^ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chick-fil-a-day-20120802,0,1647505.story
25. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/us-news-blog/2012/aug/01/chick-fil-a-appreciation-day
26. Norman, Jan (August 11, 2012). "Franchises can expect fallout". The Orange County Register. p. Business 2.

Other reactions

Other notable public figures have came to Chick-fil-A's defense including former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, former US Senator Rick Santorum, and Ann Coulter; while others, such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have not condoned Dan Cathy's views on marriage but have defended his right to express them.

References

1. Wing, Nick (1 August 2012). "Getting 'Crucified,' Boycott Has 'Chilling Effect' On First Amendment". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
2. Wing, Nick (25 July 2012). "Rick Santorum, Chick-Fil-A Champion, Joins Mike Huckabee In Supporting Fast Food Chain". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
3. Horowitz, Alana (5 August 2012). "Ann Coulter: Chick-Fil-A Anti-Gay Stance 'Not An Anti-Gay Thing'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
4. Wing, Nick (3 August 2012). "Bloomberg: Chick-Fil-A Has Rights To Its Own Views On Same-Sex Marriage, Like The Catholic Church". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

Policy change is an illusion

They may have stopped directly donating to anti-gay groups, but they're still holding fundraisers for anti-gay groups. 24.214.230.66 (talk) 04:32, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. If you read the actual press releases by CfA or the foundation, it is clear that they are merely restating their pre-existing policy on donations. Can't understand why some editors do not want the full quotes up. --Anonymous209.6 (talk) 15:38, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

"Anti-gay?" Or pro-marriage? It depends on how you look at it. Objectively speaking, just because leaders in the Gay Rights Movement decided to pursue same-sex marriage as a policy goal does not mean that groups which oppose redefining marriage are all-of-the-sudden (and practically overnight) "anti-gay." Truthfully, there are many gay Americans who do not favor redefining marriage and prefer Civil Unions or private, interpersonal contracts. 204.65.0.20 (talk) 16:55, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

There are no "pro-marriage" groups in the US except for those that fight against divorce, help to smooth out the difficulties in marriage, help with childcare, aid for financial troubles, mending the problems that led to separation, etc. Any bald statements about being pro-marriage, in the absence of actual positive work on marriage, are anti-gay marriage statements. Binksternet (talk) 17:36, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

There is no absence of actual positive work on marriage. http://www.winshapemarriage.com/about-wsm.html H2O (talk) 06:11, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

RfC

BAn RfC: Which descriptor, if any, can be added in front of Southern Poverty Law Center when referenced in other articles? has been posted at the Southern Poverty Law Center talk page. Your participation is welcomed. – MrX 16:35, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

Wondering whether this article should still exist...

Since it's been about a year since the controversy and the no consensus RfC, it might be time to revisit whether this article should still exist. Instaurare (talk) 00:50, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

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