Chick-Fil-A Pulls Support of Gay Orgs

September 20, 2012 • By Alicia Ramsay

Atlanta- based chicken sandwich quick-service food chain, Chick-Fil-A, has pledged to cease its financial support to anti-gay groups and organizations yet reinforces their pledge to equal treatment of gay employees and customers.

Chick-Fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy's statement about his support for "the biblical definition of the family unit" ignited an uproar by gay marriage activists in August. Later investigation revealed groups such as Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage received millions of dollars worth of donations from the Cathy family between 2003 and 2009.

"The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping," said Senior Director of Real Estate in a signed letter addressed to Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno. "And in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas."

WinShape is a non-profit organization created by Cathy and his family.

According to The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), Chick-Fil-A has also released a memo to all their franchisees and stakeholders in a documented titled "Chick-Fil-A: Who We Are." The memo stated that as a company, they will "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect-regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation and gender."

TCRA's executive director, Anthony Martinez, applauds the company for taking the steps they have taken. However, TCRA's policy advisor, Rick Garcia, is still concerned about discrimination at the corporate level.

"It is one thing for a company to say they respect everyone they serve and employ, it is quite another for them to put that into their policies and demand that all employees adhere to that behavior," said Garcia. "As we have heard from gay employees that work for Chick-fil-A, there is a culture of discrimination within the company and we would like to ensure that employees can speak out and call attention to those practices without fear of reprisal. It takes time to change the culture of any institution and steps like a corporate policy ensure that progress is made."

Visitor Comments (1)

Rules!

Posted By LINGOSO on September 28, 2012

I am a Christian and I believe you should treat people with respect, and not judge them because of who they are and what they do just because you don’t agree with it. I love that Chick-a-fila hires all and doesn't discriminate, and I think the memo isn’t wrong, its simply stating that this is what we believe in and this is our company standards, and if you are a part of the company you should follow the guidelines as such. I remember working for Ralph Lauren, once I got the job, I signed a contract that said I respected their laws and rules and that I would act accordingly when I was on the premises and had on my uniform which was their attire at work, it was the rules as we abided by them. As soon as co-workers left work they were cursing, smoking weed and drinking around the block, but they wouldn’t do those things and act that way at their place of business. Most companies have rules and when you are at work you abide by them, but when you leave you are a free person again, able to do as you please.