Why we do not eat

By: Jordan Palmer

The Chick-Fil-A controversy is creating a rift within the LGBTI community in Kentucky, and according to a Baptist blogger for CNN, R. Albert Mohler Jr., "[this is] a clear sign that religious liberty is at risk and that this nation has reached the brink of tyrannical intolerance."

Well, I don't agree with Mr. Mohler's assessment, but over the past month Kentucky Equality Federation has received a lot of complaints, especially from LGBTI people seeing other LGBTI people and campus gay-straight alliance leaders eating at Chick-Fil-A locations.

I have reluctantly, not in the best of health, taken the position of president of Kentucky Equality Federation again, and, by doing so, became the ex officio president of Marriage Equality Kentucky and the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Advocacy Campaign. As a founder of Kentucky Equality Federation and its president again (only until Mr. Joshua Koch returns from his pending military deployment), I feel the need to clarify our position as well as the position of our component member organizations.

On August 15th, a former volunteer for a LBGTI center shot a security guard at a Family Research Council office while apparently trying to gain access to their senior staff, volunteers, interns, or their president.

Kentucky Equality Federation condemns violence in all forms. We must not sink to their level, and we will not condone any violence against opposing non-profits or non-government organizations, even if said organization is a hate group. As someone who receives their fair share of death threats and discussing them with U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey, as he indicated to me, the people who make threats are not the ones you must fear. Rather, it is the ones who do not make threats you must worry about because they carry out these attacks.

Regardless of the petty "cliques" that already divide Kentucky’s LGBTI community, I say to all, take a step back and clear your heads.

Chick-Fil-A donates to the Family Research Council. The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Family Research Council as a hate group and Kentucky Equality Federation agrees with their classification. As Senior Fellow Mark Potok stated: "The council [Family Research Council] earned the designation for spreading false propaganda about the gay community, not for its opposition to same-sex marriage. They routinely push out demonizing claims that gay people are child molesters and worse - claims that are provably false."

The Family Research Council was actually started by Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, another anti-equality hate group. Though Kentucky Equality Federation does not agree with violence, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family have no remorse for the legislation they stop to bring equality to communities, and they are absolutely certain they are correct in their destructive courses of action because they honestly believe they have superior morality. When you consider, however, that Chick-Fil-A, as well as the Family Research Council, could have fed over 5,000 homeless Kentuckians or other citizens across America for the $25,000.00 they spent lobbying the U.S. Congress not to condemn or interfere in the republic of Uganda’s “kill the gays legislation,” which would have legalized and encouraged a common everyday occurrence in the Middle East, African nation-states, Russia, and South America. They have a right to speak what they will, but we take issue when they provide moral cover for sexual genocide.

This incident also revealed yet another secret Washington, D.C., group, "The Family," which several U.S. Congressman wrote to Kentucky Equality Federation (view) about because we are a member of the International Lesbian, Gay, Trans and Intersex Organization, "ILGA," and a United Nations non-government observer with consultative status. Kentucky Equality Federation, along with ILGA expressed its outrage to the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Commonwealth of Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acted, as did United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, by pulling HIV/AIDS relief efforts from those nation-states since the United Nations employs LGBTI people. Ban Ki-moon, as the leader of the United Nations, also warned member-states about the treatment of their LGBTI populations, reminding them that LGBTI people are protected by the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Is this "superior morality?" No. Kentucky Equality Federation first donated to Kentucky's homeless youth in April 2009 (press release). As far as being a hate group, the Family Research Council is "guilty as charged," and so is Chick-Fil-A, as their president indicated.

As president of Kentucky Equality Federation, I personally urge you not to eat at a Chick-Fil-A location. By eating at Chick-Fil-A, you give additional royalties to a restaurant chain that donates to a group that that uses propaganda, misinformation, and lobbyists to place obstacles in our path and rally against our very right to exist. They are even willing to spend money to eradicate us, as if we were some sort of plague.

Though Chick-Fil-A publically announced their religious beliefs, other companies that share their beliefs include Forever 21, Tyson Foods, Hobby Lobby, ServiceMaster, Interstate Batteries, and Walmart. (source)

I am not straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, Black, White, intersex, lesbian, or any other word someone would choose to label or define me. I am human. For some, though I will never understand how, it is easy to dismiss other humans and deny their fundamental civil liberties by placing a label on them.

The choice of eating at a Chick-Fil-A location is ultimately the decision of each person based on their conscience, but those who do, in my opinion, have lost perspective as to why we are boycotting Chick-Fil-A. Be aware that any money spent with such enablers is being spent to support the killing and increased misery of our allies here and around the world. As a community, we must remain united and check our personal opinions and attitudes at the door. Until we can do this and fight united, the equality and fairness that is denied to us shall always elude us, visible in appearance, but always just shy of our grasp.

---> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A opposes gay marriage and funds anti-gay organizations

Fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A no longer backs gay marriage, the company says it's backing out of gay marriage debate after president's candid comments.

A post Thursday on the official Chick-Fil-A Facebook page said, 'Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.'

The official statement follows backlash from president Dan Cathy’s admission that the company is “guilty as charged” when it comes to opposing gay marriage.

Dan Cathy oversees one of the country's most successful businesses. As president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, Cathy leads a business with 1,608 restaurants that had sales of more than $4 billion dollars last year. They sell chicken and train employees to focus on values rooted in the Bible.

In an interview with the Baptist Press this week, Cathy said Chick-Fil-A is “very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit.”

To that end, the company has donated millions of dollars to organizations such as Focus on the Family and the Marriage & Family Foundation, which fight against gay marriage.

"We don't claim to be a Christian business," Cathy said in a recent visit to the State of North Carolina. He attended a business leadership conference many years ago where he heard Christian businessman Fred Roach say, "There is no such thing as a Christian business."

"That got my attention," Cathy said. Roach went on to say, "Christ never died for a corporation. He died for you and me."

"All throughout the New Testament there is an evangelism strategy related to our performance in the workplace. ... Our work should be an act of worship. Our work should be our mission field. As long as we are stateside, let's don't think we have to go on mission trips by getting a passport. ... If you're obedient to God you are going to be evangelistic in the quality of the work you do, using that as a portal to share [Christ]," he said.

When asked if Chick-fil-A's success is attributed to biblical values, Cathy quickly said, "I think they're inseparable. God wants to give us wisdom to make good decisions and choices." Quoting James 1:5, he spoke of how often he asks God for wisdom.

"Frequently Jesus challenged us to just ask ... we're simply not asking as often as we should. We need to be more faithful to depend on a God who does love us and wants to have a relationship with us, and wants to give us the desires of our hearts."

When questioned about Chick-Fil-A's "Closed on Sunday" policy Cathy responded, "It was not an issue in 1946 when we opened up our first restaurant. But as living standards changed and lifestyles changed, people came to be more active on Sundays."

The policy has not changed over the years as malls began changing their policies by opening on Sundays.

"We've always put in our lease that we will be closed on Sundays," Cathy said. "We've had a track record that we were generating more business in six days than the other tenants were generating in seven [days]."

"While developers had no identity whatsoever with our corporate purpose to 'glorify God and be a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and have a positive influence on all that come in contact with Chick-fil-A,' they did identify with the rent checks that we wrote to the mall, that were based on our sales.

Facebook Post:

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.

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. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

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.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.