Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy says
the company is dropping its support for anti-gay marriage groups.
The announcement comes after gay
website GoodAsYou.org blogged about the chicken restaurant's
sponsorship of a marriage seminar closely associated with the
anti-gay marriage group Pennsylvania Family Institute.
In a two-minute-twenty-seven-second
video message released nearly three weeks ago, Cathy
denied that the company's donation was an endorsement of its values.
“Let me be clear, Chick-Fil-A serves
all people and values all people,” Cathy said.
“Providing food to these events, or
any event, is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance or
motives of this or any other organization. Any suggestion otherwise
is just inaccurate,” he added.
The company reversed course on Saturday
after the New York Times wrote about the fallout from the
incident.
“The company's Christian culture and
its strict hiring practices, which require potential operators to
discuss their marital status and civic and church involvement, have
attracted controversy before,” the paper wrote.
In a statement released Saturday, Cathy
discussed the company's new stand.
“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,” Cathy said.
“Chick-Fil-A's Corporate Purpose is
'To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted
to us, and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact
with Chick-Fil-A.' As a result, we will not champion any political
agendas on marriage and family. This decision has been made, and we
understand the importance of it.”
But Cathy added that the company would
“continue to offer resources to strengthen marriages and families.”
“To do anything different would be
inconsistent with our purpose and belief in Biblical principles,”
he said.