Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A,
has conceded that his company is opposed to gay marriage.
In an interview with the Christian
publication the Baptist Press, Cathy answered, “Well, guilty
as charged,” when asked about his company's record of supporting
groups opposed to marriage equality.
“We are very much supportive of the
family – the biblical definition of the family unit,” Cathy said.
“We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are
married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. … We want
to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very
much committed to that.”
Last year, as the company's links to
anti-gay groups came under increased scrutiny, Cathy announced that
his company would no longer “champion any political agendas on
marriage and family” and claimed that Chick-Fil-A has “no agenda
against anyone.”
According to Equality
Matters, Chick-Fil-A donated $3 million to groups opposed to gay
rights, including the Family Research Council (FRC) and Exodus
International, between 2003 and 2009. In 2010, the company gave more
than $1.9 million to such groups, more than any other year for which
public records are available.