CHICAGO (CBS) — The rights to religious freedom and free speech that have recently come under attack by gay rights activists have met with harsh criticism resulting in millions gathering throughout the US to support Chick-Fil-A. Things might come to a head on Wednesday as gay rights activists purposely distort and confuse American’s support of rights to free speech and religious liberty with hatred of gays.
Chick fil a supporters in Chicago and around the country are turning out for an “appreciation day” first proposed by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Nationwide as of Wednesday morning, about 582,000 people planned to go to a Chick-Fil-A location and order something for Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Chicago say they will also file a formal complaint at City Hall against Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno (1st), who wants to block the restaurant from moving into his ward because of the company’s position on gay marriage and gay rights.
Huckabee said on Facebook that the purpose of the “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” is to support a business that operates on Biblical values and is being targeted by “vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left.”
Huckabee said further,
But gay rights advocates in Chicago are setting up an event of their own, urging people to eat at local restaurants that support gay rights.
Equality Illinois is urging Chicagoans who support gay rights to participate in an “Eat for Love Day” on Wednesday. The organization is urging people to eat at a local restaurant that supports LGBT rights and “is unafraid to show its support for equality for everyone.”
The group is asking participants to post where they are planning on eating and send pictures. Among the restaurants participating are the Chicago Diner at 3411 N. Halsted St.; Lady Gregory’s at 5260 N. Clark St.; Wilde at 3130 N. Broadway; HB Chicago at 3404 N. Halsted St.; Club Lago at 331 W. Superior St.; and the Hearty Boys restaurant at 3819 N. Broadway – which is giving 100 percent of the proceeds from its fried chicken breast sandwiches to Equality Illinois.
Another popular restaurant, Hamburger Mary’s at 5400 N. Clark St. in the Andersonville neighborhood, put out a promotion for a “hate-free” fried chicken sandwich available through the month of August. The promotion for Southern-Style Chicken Sandwich features the national chain’s mascot Hamburger Mary wearing a cow-print dress and holding a sign reading “Eat More Mary’s” with the R’s backwards – in a parody of Chick-Fil-A’s cow mascot and “Eat More Chikin” slogan.
At the Chicago location, Hamburger Mary’s is donating a portion of the sales to Equality Illinois.
Another protest is coming on Friday, when Equality Illinois is urging gay and lesbian couples to go to their local Chick-Fil-A restaurants for a “kiss-in” campaign, which the group is promoting along with other gay rights organizations nationwide.
At the “kiss-in,” Equality Illinois says, “LGBT supporters will show their disdain for Chick-Fil-A’s policies with public displays of affection in front of their restaurants.”
The controversy over Chick-Fil-A in Chicago erupted last week, when Moreno said he would be blocking Chick-Fil-A from opening its second Chicago city location in his ward, in the 2500 block of North Elston Avenue, because of the anti-gay philosophy articulated by the company’s president.
“I’m not going to sit on the sidelines, and allow them to come in, when I know in my heart that they believe in discriminating against gay people,” Moreno said last week.
The comments that sparked the controversy were published last week in an article on the Christian news site Baptist Press.
Chick-Fil-A chief executive officer Dan Cathy is quoted in the July 16 Baptist Press article: “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
Cathy further expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage in an interview last month on the radio program “The Ken Coleman Show.”
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say ‘we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’ and I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about,” Cathy said on the radio program.
Mayor Emanuel spoke in defense of Moreno’s stance last week.
“Chick-Fil-A’s values are not Chicago values,” the mayor said. “They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members. And if you’re going to be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect the Chicago values.”
Currently, Chick-Fil-A only has one location in the city of Chicago, at 30 E. Chicago Ave.
