In Chick-fil-A restaurants across the state and nation, customers were waiting 75 minutes for a chicken sandwich when they could have driven down the road to McDonald’s and been in and out in five minutes.
It surely seemed strange to at least a few observers, but the folks at jam-packed Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country were making a statement, standing up for a chain that has been criticized by media members, politicians and activist groups because of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s support for the biblical definition of marriage.
Carol Diegel, of Hoover, said while eating at one of the Birmingham-area Chick-fil-As, “It’s important to come in and support freedom of speech. Mr. Cathy was not attempting to take away anyone’s rights. He wasn’t trying to make an argument or influence policy. He was simply stating his belief.
“We have to fight for the continued right to speak our beliefs,” Diegel said. “Chick-fil-A is the only fast-food restaurant that is closed on Sunday. They’re the only fast-food restaurant that is openly Christian. Cathy is a God-fearing Christian man and he deserves to have the support of the Christian community.”
“Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” as organizer Mike Huckabee called it, may have been more successful than even he envisioned. More than 660,000 people had signed up on Facebook to participate.
In some areas, police were on location to direct traffic, with cars backed up on main roads. Churches, too, were getting involved — some ordering Chick-fil-A food to serve at their weekly Wednesday evening meal.
For most if not all day Wednesday, #chickfila was trending on Twitter. Some people even were pledging to eat at the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Heading into the day, Huckabee said the event was not about gay “marriage” — as some had made it out to be — but about free speech and religious liberty. A business owner, he said, should be able to state basic Christian beliefs without being castigated. He stood by that on his radio show Aug. 1.
“We’re finding out that people in America still believe that every American — every American — has a right to an opinion,” Huckabee said on his radio program. “You don’t have to agree with it. You don’t have to like it. But you ought to respect that people have that wonderful right.”
The national debate over Chick-fil-A began after media coverage of the company’s support of the traditional family. A media storm then ensued, with some gay rights groups calling for a boycott of the company.
Chick-fil-A issued a statement July 19 saying that its tradition is “to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”
It also noted that it has applied “biblically based principles” to business management and will continue to do so.
(BP, TAB)
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