May 19, 2013
Tallahassee, Florida -September 21, 2012
Chick-fil-A's anti-gay marriage stance has put the fast-food chain back under the national spotlight.
The chicken joint known for its waffle fries and conservative Christian values faced scrutiny as it tried to expand into Chicago.
Chicago alderman Joe Moreno opposed the company's move to build a new restaurant in his ward because of donations he claims the company made to anti-gay marriage groups.
Earlier this week, an Illinois based gay rights group claimed Chick-fil-A sent a letter promising to stop donating to those anti-gay groups.
As a result, alderman Moreno has backed-off from opposing the build.
On Wednesday, September 20, the fast-food chain released this statement in an attempt to clarify its position:
"For many months now, Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving has been mischaracterized. And while our sincere intent has been to remain out of this political and social debate, events from Chicago this week have once again resulted in questions around our giving.
For many months now, Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving has been mischaracterized. And while our sincere intent has been to remain out of this political and social debate, events from Chicago this week have once again resulted in questions around our giving. For that reason, we want to provide some context and clarity around who we are, what we believe and our priorities in relation to corporate giving.
A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.
As we have stated, the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators."
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WCTV also reached out to The Family Tree, a Tallahassee-based LGBT group who released this statement:
"The Family Tree believes that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, should be treated with fairness and respect.
While reports of Chick-fil-A's "change of heart" remain unconfirmed, we are hopeful that community feedback has encouraged the chain to discontinue their support of homophobic and anti-gay organizations.
We would applaud such an effort.
Through programs such as our LGBT Business Partners group, we work with the local business community and supportive organizations to ensure increased opportunity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender professionals.
We happily extend an open invitation to any local Chick-fil-A franchisee who would like to learn more about the issues facing LGBT citizens and the economic benefits of equality-based business decisions to become a member of our Business Partners group."- The Family Tree
