In a new interview, Chick-fil-A Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy said that the company is indeed anti-gay, according to an Advocate.com item.
He told the Baptist Press his goal is to operate the fast-food chain "on Biblical principles." When asked if his company had an established position against marriage equality, Cathy replied, "guilty as charged." He added, "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."
Previously, Cathy insisted that he and Chick-fil-A were not anti-gay, and that his company has "no agenda against anyone."
Recently, a report from Media Matters asserted that fast-food chain Chick-fil-A donated more than $1.9 million to anti-gay causes in 2010 alone.
Chick-fil-A President Comes Clean About Company's Anti-Gay Philosophy
Equality Matters issued this press release
Chick-fil-A is now confirming in no uncertain terms that the company maintains an anti-LGBT philosophy — a stance supported in practical terms by the company's history of donations to anti-gay groups.
Although his company's policies seemed to indicate otherwise, Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy previously claimed that the company is not anti-gay — "not anti-anybody." Cathy, who on Monday foreshadowed his public comments in a blog post titled "Thought For The Week: Become A Part Of The Story," cleared up any confusion by denouncing marriage equality and its advocates in interviews published in Baptist Press and on The Ken Coleman Show over the past two days. From OnTopMag.com (emphasis added):
Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy has described gay marriage supporters as "arrogant" for going against God on marriage.
In an interview on the Ken Coleman Show, Cathy defended his company's support of groups opposed to marriage equality.
"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'" Cathy said. "And I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."
Earlier, Cathy was interviewed by the Baptist Press (emphasis added):
Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.
"We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.
"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."
In two Twitter statements Wednesday, Cathy appeared gleeful at the prospect of offending the LGBT community and 'becoming a part of the story.' Cathy has apparently deleted the tweets, but screen shots are below:
Cathy's sentiment comes as little surprise. Though the company had previously denied supporting an anti-gay agenda, Chick-fil-A (via its charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation) donated over $3 million to organizations like the Family Research Council and Exodus International between 2003 and 2009. In 2010, the company donated over $1.9 million to anti-gay causes.
