During my two-year tenure on this campus, there have been plenty of hullabaloos surrounding McDonald’s treatment of animals and the bizarrely colorful chicken statue that creepily looked at you outside of Stamp Student Union. Yet there’s another controversial food court tenant that, as my Jewish grandmother would say, has been “up to no good”: Chick-fil-A.
Along with their delicious chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and sweet tea, Chick-fil-A is also known for being closed on Sundays because its owners are Christian. They have recently been subject to withering criticism for donating millions of dollars to virulently anti-gay organizations.
Over the past few years, extensive research by Equality Matters and Jeremy Hooper, a well-known gay blogger, has uncovered significant financial donations to organizations such as the Family Research Council, Alliance Defense Fund and Exodus International. These three groups are considered to be the most influential anti-gay think tank, legal defense fund and ex-gay organizations.
The groups go beyond the social conservative mainstream and are often considered dangerous for their extremist views regarding gay and transgendered individuals. A few months ago, the Family Research Council — a Southern Poverty Law Center-certified hate group — blasted President Barack Obama for recording an “It Gets Better” video, saying, “It’s disgusting. And it’s part of a concerted effort to persuade kids that homosexuality is okay and actually to recruit them into that ‘lifestyle.'”
Exodus International uses reparative therapy to try to “cure” gays and lesbians of their sexuality. The American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics are both strongly opposed to reparative therapy and assert it often causes patients severe emotional harm. While pop stars rarely say anything of substance (Ke$ha), Lady GaGa was spot on with her track, “Born This Way.”
What I find frustrating is that Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy seemed to blatantly lie in a letter to customers released this past January. He says, “Chick-fil-A has a long history of trying to encourage and strengthen marriages and families, both within our Chick-fil-A system and with our customers.” Hooper asked the company whether Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Retreat was open to gay and lesbian couples. In their response, they said, “WinShape Retreat defines marriage from the Biblical standard as being between one man and one woman.” Later in the email exchange, they said, “We do not accept homosexual couples because of the statement in our contract.”
Cathy then sent out a press release to clarify his position, stating Chick-fil-A has “A 65-year history of serving families and communities without a political agenda.” How can your company donate millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations while saying you don’t have a political agenda?
Due to the recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corporations will become more active in politics. This decision allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political candidates and organizations. For years, companies have made donations to politicians for financial and business reasons. Yet, when Chick-fil-A takes sides in highly charged political debate, there will be financial and reputational consequences. Chick-fil-A is using chicken sandwiches to push a far-right-wing political agenda.
After eating Saladworks three to four times a week, I’d like to be able to devour some delicious Chick-fil-A chicken. But until Chick-fil-A either stops their donations, or even just apologizes for sending mixed messages, I’ll be staying away from the anti-gay Chick-fil-A.
Matt Arnstine is a junior government and politics major. He can be reached at arnstine@umdbk.com.
