Chick-Fil-A critics, fans make themselves heard
‘Appreciation Day’ sparks highly politicized lunchtime
LOS ANGELES – The chicken sandwich became a political statement for a day as supporters of the Chick-fil-A president’s stance against gay marriage caused traffic jams at the fast-food chain’s restaurants nationwide.
Baking in the Southern California summer heat, lines of Chick-fil-A fans snaked around the eateries and down streets Wednesday as patrons ignored gay rights advocates armed with “Cluck Off” signs and vuvuzelas urging them to eat elsewhere.
Similar crowds converged across the country at Chick-fil-A, which has more than 1,600 branches. In Madison, Ala., police were called to maintain order. Some customers waited outside Chick-fil-A restaurants carrying 8-foot crosses or dressed as Superman, according to users on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum tweeted about his Chick-fil-A lunch. “OK leftists go crazy,” he wrote.
The huge crowds were responding to a call from another former presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, who had dubbed Aug. 1 as Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day after the chain’s president, Dan Cathy, publicly spoke out against same-sex unions two weeks ago.
Cathy’s comments, as well as revelations that the chain has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay marriage groups, have sparked a furor from several big-city mayors, actors Mia Farrow and Roseanne Barr, Muppets creator Jim Henson Co. and thousands of consumers who have pledged to boycott the chain.
On Wednesday, popular West Hollywood, Calif., bar the Abbey unveiled its new sandwich, the Chick-For-Gay, which it plans to serve to its largely gay and lesbian clientele through the November elections.
Still, more than 600,000 people RSVPed on Facebook for Huckabee’s appreciation event. He wrote on the social networking site that he was “incensed at the vitriolic assaults” on the chain, which he described as “a great American story that is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left.”
Huckabee, now a radio show host, posted photos on Facebook of his visit Wednesday to a Chick-fil-A in Destin, Fla.
Not all customers eating at Chick-fil-A sympathize with Cathy’s stance against same-sex unions. Many said they were backing the company’s right to free speech. Others arrived to voice their displeasure with liberal values in general.
“I’m not against gay rights by any means, but I think this guy is getting a bad rap,” Beaumont, Calif., resident Ed Vatter, 57, said over a plate of chicken nuggets and waffle fries at the Chick-fil-A in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
“Plus,” he said, “the food’s pretty good.”
Chick-fil-A, a privately held company in Atlanta, refused to comment on the effect of the appreciation day on its sales.
In a statement, it noted that the event “was not created by Chick-fil-A” but said it appreciated “all of our customers and are glad to serve them at any time.”
The company, which operates under Christian beliefs that include being closed Sundays, reiterated its “simple” goal of providing “great food, genuine hospitality and a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”