Chicken lovers lined up for hours in the Golden Triangle on Wednesday to dine at one of their favorite fast food eateries. And while some may have stopped by the Columbus or Starkville Chick-fil-A solely to get a chicken sandwich, others waited for more than an hour at the crowded chain to not only eat but to take part in a political movement.
Wednesday’s “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” a grassroots movement organized on Facebook by former Arkansas governor and conservative talk show host Mike Huckabee, drew enormous crowds across the country.
The movement was created to counter protests over a statement made by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy.
During a July 16 interview with a religious journal, Cathy (son of the company’s founder Truett Cathy) said, “‘We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.'”
The comments were widely perceived as an anti-gay marriage statement, prompting several gay and lesbian groups to call for a boycott of the chicken chain.
To counter that backlash, Huckabee organized a response.
“I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, Aug. 1, Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day,” Huckabee said in a Facebook post. “No one is being asked to make signs, speeches, or openly demonstrate. The goal is simple: Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick fil-A on Wednesday, Aug. 1. Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers and intolerant.”
Support for the local Chick-fil-As, located in Columbus and Starkville, was so overwhelming on Wednesday a mild traffic jam was created around both stores.
“We had to send out additional officers to the Columbus restaurant around noon,” Columbus Police Department Public Information Officer Glenda Buckhalter said. “There was an influx of customers there to show their support of (CEO) Dan Cathy.”
Buckhalter said there were no accidents caused by the excessive traffic.
Much like the scene of its first day in business in March, the Columbus Chick-fil-A had lines out the door and across its parking lot for most of the day. Some patrons drove across county lines to support Cathy and the restaurant.
“I’ve waited in line for an hour and 15 minutes because I believe in the right to freedom of speech,” said Diane Malone of Hamilton. “It does not matter if you agree with the statement. As Americans, we have an obligation to defend the right for the statement to be said without persecution. Seems to me some people have it on their agenda to stifle that freedom, especially if the statements are made by a certain group of people.”
U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, sent a letter to Chick-fil-A Wednesday pledging his support.
“The criticism they have received has been appalling. Elected officials that are now threatening to block new Chick-fil-A restaurants in their cities are acting in a manner that is un-American,” said Nunnelee. “Demanding ideological conformity in order to be allowed to run your business is a dangerous precedent. It is like something that would happen in Soviet Russia. Clearly, a lot of people who like to fashion themselves as open-minded and tolerant are actually the most intolerant folks around if you don’t agree with them.”
Customers react
Mary Ann Briggs of West Point, said she, too, supports Chick-fil-A and its mission.
“I love their food and the owners’ commitment to stand firm on the beliefs that helped build their business,” said Briggs. “I love the fact they are closed on Sundays to honor that day of rest and spend time for church and family activities, even though I do get disappointed when I want their food and remember it’s a Sunday. I think their advertisements are great. I support their stand on marriage, and I would go eat there today if there was one close to me.”
Starkville residents also swarmed the chicken restaurant on Wednesday to show their support of Christian values and freedom of speech.
“Right now it’s a huge thing, people don’t want to give Christians, or people who believe in this stance of marriage, free speech,” said Cathy Bowles. “It’s not about the individual. It’s about the lifestyle that we disagree with, and we are open to say we disagree with it because we have the freedom of speech. But they are open to disagree with what we believe, too. People disagree with us Christians all the time. Our Constitution was based on Christianity, and we have come so far away from it.
“I stand for patriots, I stand for what we were built of. My dad was in the Navy. I have family that was all in the Armed Forces. I’m going to stand for our freedoms and what we believe.”
While Chick-fil-A released a statement stating the company did not create the appreciation day, Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A Vice President of Marketing did on Tuesday post the following statement on the company’s website: “Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. 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. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena. Our mission is simple — to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
Gays speak out
Harry Hawkins, president of Spectrum, the gay and lesbian alliance on the campus of Mississippi State University, said he hasn’t supported Chick-fil-A financially in quite a while and that Wednesday’s appreciation day had no impact on him as a gay man.
“There have been some issues with Chick-fil-A that have been simmering for a while,” said Hawkins. “It started getting a bit heated when it went public they were supporting anti-gay groups — hate groups. Dan Cathy is entitled to his opinion. I’m more offended about the groups they donate money to, groups we see as hate groups. I decided a while back not to give them my money. It’s a sad thing for homosexuals. It’s not the 1960s, but the country is doing it again, only this time the prejudice is not aimed toward blacks, it’s aimed at gays and lesbians. It’s disgusting. But I don’t think everyone in the Chick-fil-A company is bad, but I think the employees who don’t agree with this behavior should let their opinions be known.”
Hawkins said gay groups such as GLADD are planning a counter-protest event entitled “Kiss Your Partner at Chick-fil-A Day” for Aug. 3.
Former Columbus resident Rick Rogers, who is also gay, said the issue has been blown out of proportion.
“I’m not going to boycott Chick-fil-A because of what CEO Dan Cathy said, because this doesn’t mean they don’t have gay employees or hire people who are gay,” Rogers said. “Who cares what Dan Cathy thinks? As far as gay marriage goes, I know a lot of people who get married for the wrong reasons. I grew up in a Baptist church, so my views on marriage lean toward the traditional views. But I don’t think people need the government to tell them gay marriage is OK. This whole thing has been blown out of proportion on both sides. Why do people feel the government needs to say gay marriage is OK or not OK? A lot of gay people have lived with a lot of fear, and coming out and accepting yourself and exposing yourself to others has a huge fear factor. I think marriage allows some homosexuals to have something traditional in their lives and I can certainly understand it from that aspect.”
Other Columbus residents said the appreciation day was nothing more than political grandstanding.
“Personally, I think it was nothing more than a way to rally troops against Obama, while finding a better way to sell chicken,” said Sam Guyton. “If this weren’t an election year and Obama had not come out in support of gay marriage like he did, this would be a non-factor and would have passed by quicker. We are all sheep when it comes to the two things humans love most — chicken and controversy.”
“I’m not necessarily against gay marriage one way or the other,” Jim Jordan said. “I think that whatever two adults decide to do amongst themselves is entirely up to them. It is not up to us to judge. There is only one Judgment Day. What I am against is Chick-fil-A profiting from the controversy. I salute them for being a Christian-based business and standing up for their beliefs. But who draws the line between religious views and political views?
“Most churches are against gay marriage, but you don’t see people lining up to go to church for that reason. Do you think Chick-fil-A would deny service to a gay couple? Do they not use the same money that we do? And what if McDonald’s or any other fast food restaurant stated they were against people owning guns? Would people line up to eat their food in honor of the Colorado shooting victims? This is one organization’s view on the gay marriage issue. Many other companies probably feel the same. It seems Chick-fil-A is just out to make a profit off of controversy.”
Micah Green contributed to this story.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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