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Loading...Chick-fil-A’s $1 Million Anti-Gay Donations Exposed by Equality Matters
An investigation by Equality Matters into the political donations made by company Chick-fil-A reveals that, despite claims by the company’s president Dan Cathy that Chick-fil-A has “no agenda” when it comes to gay people, the company has given over $1 million to organizations supporting anti-gay initiatives including so-called reparative therapy designed to “cure” gay people.
The investigation came about after a spot of controversy in January when a Pennsylvania Chick-fil-A restaurant sponsored what was billed as a “traditional marriage” event.
Wanting to know where Chick-fil-A stood on the matter, LGBT rights advocates called for a position statement from the owners whereby Dan Cathy dismissed allegations the company was anti-gay, saying that the one restaurant’s actions were to be considered an isolated incident.
“We have no agenda against anyone. While my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees,” said Dan Cathy in a written statement, adding that the company would not “champion any political agendas” relating to marriages or families.
Not so says Equality Matters – and they’ve got the 2003-2008 IRS forms of Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm WinShape to prove it.
In its investigation, Equality Matters reveals donations have been made to several groups with strong anti-gay credentials, including:
- $4,800 to The Fellowship of Christian Athletes who condemn gay people as living an “impure lifestyle” and have, in conferences, indicated that they support cure attempts with the message that God can deliver people from homosexuality.
- $5,000 to the Alliance Defense Fund who regularly and willfully take on lawsuits that are designed to challenge and roll-back LGBT equality. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Alliance Defense Fund as one of America’s most influential groups fighting against LGBT equality.
- $1,000 to the Family Research Council who have been condemned by a variety of organizations for continued anti-LGBT misrepresentation.
- and $631,000 to the National Christian Foundation which is a grant-making foundation that in turn supports numerous anti-gay organizations such as The Family Research Council and Focus on the Family to name but a few. Chick-fil-A partnered with Focus on the Family for a time in 2005 – Focus on the Family is widely known to advocate religious based sexual orientation change therapy.
Equality Matters lists other anti-gay affiliations the company has fostered as well as drawing attention to a company spokesperson’s questionable statements regarding termination of employees for “sinful” behavior and how the company favors (presumably straight) married employees because it believes they are more productive.
Of course, what a company does with its money is its own business, but Chick-fil-A can not claim that its anti-gay donations are in any way an “isolated incident.”
Nor can it hide behind the meme of just supporting “traditional marriage” when it has been shown to also support groups who go a lot further than that and peddle the damaging and false assertion that one can use religious based reparative therapy to change a person’s sexual orientation, a practice that is rejected by the overwhelming majority of the mainstream medical community as being at best ineffective and at worst extremely damaging.
Read more: anti-gay donations, Chick-Fil-A, civil rights, equality matters, gay rights, lgbt rights
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+ add your ownI haven't read any evidence of the Family Research Council being involved in the killing of homosexuals in Uganda. I saw the donation Chick-fil-a made to the Family Research Council but no proof of the Family Research Council being involved in anything concerning killing of homosexuals. Real proof please-not speculation. If you can prove to me that Chick-fil-a is donating money to have homosexuals killed then I will not be a customer any longer because that is so wrong. I have done some research and have yet to find anything to prove this theory.
What a sad way to use their resources when they could be used for good.
Thanks - it's nice to know who the enemy is.
@ Sue T...people won't shut up about it due to Chick-fil-A donates to persons & organizations, like Senator Tom Emmer who believes it's "OK" to kill gays & lesbians! If it was a restaurant that supported the killing of christians, I bet you wouldn't patronize it!
Damn, it was good chicken too.
Now I won't eat at Outback, Burger King (wouldn't anyway) KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut (again, wouldn't eat this crap anyway), Cracker Barrel, or Ruby Tuesday.
Good thing DH & I are great cooks.
I hear their chicken is the best!
I wish people would just STFU and eat chicken.
Where is it wrong that a company donates money to whatever and whereever they want to? So what?
I wish there were Chick fil a 's in MN cause I would totally eat there just because you all are whining about it!
People have a choice. It is difficult to buy products that are completely clean. Almost everything we buy is from China where they abuse the environment, people, and animals. Most cosmetics, food, cleaning product companies abuse animals.
I choose to respect the christian choice some people make, as much as I respect the people with alternate lifestyles.
I am just a teensy step away from being vegetarian (dang fish! why must I love you?) so I wouldn't eat there anyway, but I don't understand the logic behind some of these comments. I understand the emotion fine, mind you, just not the logic. Do you ask every service provider you choose (plumber, electrician, pool guy, lawn kid) what their beliefs are, in fear that they might pass on 1 or 5% of the money you give them to things you don't support? There are many privately owned restaurants in the country, do you make sure you know about their owner's beliefs and contributions before dining?
Is this the company that can't spell correctly? Who wants to support that?
Agreed-no Bigot-fil-A for me. Big time boycott! Maybe we should found a cure for Bigots.
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