So Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy (who is also the son of the company’s founder) has dug in his heels on this whole gay marriage thing, which he talked about in a recent interview.
UPDATE: Chick-Fil-A has responded with a statement over the comments, which drew strong negative reaction this week.
“The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.
Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.
Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
Good way of handling the reaction?
So Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy (who is also the son of the company’s founder) has dug in his heels on this whole gay marriage thing, which he talked about in a recent interview.
EDIT: Chick-Fil-A has responded to the controversy over their president’s statements. Read more here.
ninja-toes asks: "He was careful, however, not to describe himself as gay." Admitting you're bisexual is not the same as being careful to avoid labeling yourself as gay. You do a disservice to the bisexual community with comments such as that, because in doing so, you reinforce the denial of a community that has to constantly fight for recognition. Bisexual erasure is a very big problem even within the gay and lesbian community, so please consider your choice of words more carefully in the future. Thank you.
» SFB says: To be clear, the post was simply rewording what the source Reuters article said: “But he did not specifically call himself gay.” If you read Frank Ocean’s letter, he didn’t label himself in any form — neither gay nor bisexual. He just said his first love was a man — a love that initially wasn’t reciprocated. You have a fair point about bisexual erasure, but on the other hand, he didn’t label himself as bisexual, and we were trying to avoid giving him a specific label, as he didn’t give himself one. Keep in mind that it’s difficult to balance concerns like these; even minor turns of phrase can be misinterpreted. — Ernie @ SFB
I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don’t give that up by being a journalist.The key quote from Anderson Cooper’s letter to Andrew Sullivan where he admits that he’s gay.
Very happy to announce that as of this morning, Heather and I are legally married (at least in DC). 20 years to the day after our first date.Dick Cheney’s daughter, Mary • Revealing that she got married to her longtime partner, Heather Poe, on Friday. The couple, which has two children, lives in Northern Virginia, but got married in Washington DC, one of the areas where gay marriage is legal. Congrats guys!
David Blankenhorn’s evolution on marriage equality is emblematic of the paradigm shift we are experiencing as a country on this issue. Loving gay and lesbian couples should not be denied the ability to make the same lifelong commitment as everyone else and Blankenhorn’s agreement with that proposition puts him in the mainstream of American opinion.Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin • Discussing David Blankenhorn, a once-star proponent for California’s controversial Proposition 8, and his shift towards supporting marriage equality, which he expressed in an op-ed in the New York Times, which you can read here. Blankehorne founded the Institute for American Values and testified in favor of Prop. 8 during the trial in California. source (via • follow)
DOMA Arigato, St. Joseph. A NY woman legally married last October to another woman (known as Jane Roe and Jane Doe, respectively) is suing her employer, Catholic hospital St. Joseph’s, for not extending insurance benefits to her wife. Because St. Joe’s is self-insured, they have freedom under DOMA and the federal government to not extend medical benefits to same-sex couples. This may well be the first case of its kind to take on both the federal government and a Catholic institution, and its decision could have far-reaching consequences —especially for religiously affiliated institutions — nationwide. source
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» The AP also reports that federal authorities no longer plan to attempt to deport Ravi to Pakistan, where he is currently a citizen. LGBT groups have decried the move, including Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein who called the release “practically a Monopoly game’s ‘get out of jail free’ card — a travesty of justice.”
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I’m very, very disappointed. I am disappointed that my campaign manager forwarded an e-mail that would include any member of my family in policy discussions.Representative Marsha Looper • Commenting on campaign manager Lana Fore-Warkocz’s decision to include her son in a recent email praising Looper for voting against a civil unions bill in Colorado. The message pointed to Looper’s decision to vote against the bill, even though her son was homosexual, as proof of her commitment to her ideals. Unfortunately, the email also outed Looper’s son, who had not previously discussed his sexuality publicly. Yikes. source (via • follow)
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The DC Comics character revealed to be gay? The Green Lantern — at least that’s what (Washington) DC’s Metro Weekly says.
[I have] a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones, and they are as stable a family as my family is and they raise children. And so I don’t see any reason not to say that they should be able to get married under the laws of their state or the laws of the country.Former Secretary of State Colin Powell • Voicing support for same-sex marriage on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy went into effect, also said that policy was needed at the time due to political pressures. ”It was the Congress that imposed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ it was certainly my position, my recommendation to get us out of an even worse outcome that could have occurred,” he said.
» The nitty-gritty: The bill was co-sponsored by 23 senators, including one Republican (Susan Collins of Maine). It passed the committee easily, via a bipartisan voice vote, and is actually rather narrow in scope: It only provides benefits for unmarried, same-sex domestic partners of federal workers. Married same-sex couples—and unmarried opposite-sex couples—are not included. The range of benefits provided, though, is pretty huge: medical, long-term care, disability, life insurance, workers’ comp, retirement, and more.
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You spoke too soon, Rand Paul. It sounds like the President’s views on marriage just got even gayer.Gawker’s Louis Peitzman • In a piece (referencing this) about how Obama’s hoping to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in his second term. Yes, you read that right. Let that sink in, everyone.
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