The fast food chain Chick-fil-A has become synonymous with homophobia, and given the chain’s history of donating millions of dollars to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations, it’s easy to see why, but how much impact are the company’s actions having on the queer community today?
The chicken restaurant has been in the news for several discrimination cases going back more than a decade. LGBTQSeveral employees Huffington Post In 2012, a transgender woman sued the owner of a franchise restaurant after receiving “disturbing” comments from customers and co-workers. Nearly a decade later, in 2022, a transgender woman filed suit against the restaurant’s owner, claiming that she had received “disturbing” comments from customers and co-workers. The state of Georgia fired her because of her gender identity and ignored repeated reports of sexual harassment.
The company has notoriously come under fire and boycott for donating millions of dollars to various anti-LGBTQ+ groups, donating over $1.7 million in 2009 alone. Its top recipients that year were the Marriage and Family Legacy Fund ($994,199), the League of Christian Athletes ($480,000), the National Christian Foundation ($240,000), and Focus on the Family ($12,500).
Chick-fil-A Foundation Donated $1.8 million Of the $1,653,416 donated to three anti-LGBTQ organizations in 2017, $1,653,416 went to the League of Christian Athletes, which enforces a “sexual purity” policy banning “homosexual conduct.” The Salvation Army received $150,000, and the remaining $6,000 went to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, which provides housing for troubled youth and teaches “boys that homosexuality is wrong” and that same-sex marriage is “an outrage against Jesus Christ and His values.”
Chick-fil-A donated $1.65 million to the FCA and $115,000 to the Salvation Army in 2018, but announced in 2019 that it would stop giving to corporations and that its foundation would donate only to a select few organizations. However, Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A’s president and chief operating officer, announcement “No organization, whether faith-based or non-faith-based, will be excluded from future consideration.”
The Human Rights Campaign lawyer At the time, the decision was a “significant step for Chick-fil-A,” but the company was noted to still not have workplace protections or policies in place that are fully inclusive of LGBTQ people. In fact, Chick-fil-A’s profits continue to fund efforts to block the Equality Act, which would amend federal law to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit, and jury service.
Former CEO Dan Cathy was the son of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy in 2012. said He was previously quoted in the Christian publication Baptist Press as suggesting that he believed in a “biblical definition of the family unit” and was opposed to marriage equality. The Daily Beast In 2021, he will be one of several Christian billionaires who have donated millions of dollars to the National Christian Charitable Foundation, which has led the effort to block the Equality Act.
Chick-fil-A’s continued support of anti-LGBTQ+ activism has led some universities and other institutions to cut ties with the company or block new franchises from their locations, but some lawmakers have chosen to take away the rights of businesses and consumers on behalf of restaurants by prohibiting them from rejecting Chick-fil-A based on their values.
When the San Antonio City Council rejected a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the city’s airport in March 2019, conservative Texas lawmakers were outraged and passed the “Chick-fil-A Bailout Act,” which prohibits the state, cities, and counties from “punishing” individuals or businesses for joining or donating to religious groups, including anti-LGBTQ+ groups. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law in June of that year.
Chick-fil-A’s ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ activism is not new and is widespread. In fact, it has been so well-publicized that other chicken chains have criticized the company. When Popeyes released a sandwich that resembled Chick-fil-A’s signature chicken and pickle sandwich, Popeyes mocked other restaurants on social media and it was quickly branded by social media users as a gay-friendly sandwich.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
