The next chapter in the national debate over Chick-fil-A and its
chief executive's opposition to gay marraige comes Friday, when gay rights activists
are planning a "kiss in" event.
Activists are planning a
"National Same-Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A" on Friday. As part of the
event, couples are encouraged to go one of the chicken restaurant's locations
and take a photo or video of themselves kissing.
"Let's show Chick-fil-A
thanks for their support of Love, Equality, and the Real Definition of
Marriage! Invite your friends!" organizers said on its Facebook page.
The move comes after thousands
of restaurant supporters came out to back the CEO's stance. In some cases,
there were long lines at locations.
Vicki Parsons, a Tustin
resident who runs a small Internet technology company in Santa Ana, stood in
line with her daughter for an hour and 10 minutes at a Costa Mesa location but
said it was well worth the wait.
"The ability for a
company to be able to believe what they want to believe and still have their
doors open to whoever wants to or chooses to give their business -- that's why
I'm here," she said. "Yes, I am a Christian, but my strongest support
stems from being a business owner. I want to believe what I want to believe and
not be condemned for what I believe, and give people the freedom of choice, if
they want to do business with us."
Newport Beach resident Ian
Conger cited both business and religion as his reasons for dining Wednesday at
the relatively new Costa Mesa location.
"This company is
family-owned, and they're putting their money where they want to, and that's
their right," he said. "Nobody should tell someone how they should
spend their money. God is very good to my wife and I, and I feel God's going to
be with us through this and he'll be with the opposer as well. He doesn't hate
anybody."
Lake Forest resident Deanna
Kirchen stood in line with her children to support the restaurant for religious
reasons.
"I've been in line for
over an hour, and I'm only about three-quarters of the way through," she
said. "I'm hungry and yes, we came here for lunch, but I wanted to support
Chick-fil-A for having the cojones to stand up for biblical values."
Chick-fil-A drew criticism
after Chief Executive Dan Cathy recently said he and his company were against
gay marriage. The comments drew strong reactions, with customers pledging to
boycott the chain and some mayors proclaiming they would not allow Chick-fil-A
to open in their cities.
In response, former Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee declared Wednesday to be Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,
calling on people to eat at the restaurant to show support.
No comments:
Post a Comment