Conservative Christians attacked fast food giant Chick-fil-A after a franchisee in Orem, Utah, posted a Facebook message celebrating a young gay couple’s marriage.
“CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!” the December 3 post reads. “Dougie & Toby recently got married and we are so beyond happy for them!”
The celebratory message quickly triggered backlash from conservatives. The “Chick-fil-A Orem Plaza” Facebook account ultimately restricted public comments to users who had been following the page for more than 24 hours.
While many of the comments were supportive, a handful expressed opposition to homosexuality and dismissed the men’s marriage as “not real.”
“Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error,” wrote one person, citing the Epistle to the Romans.
“Chick-fil-A Orem Plaza you need to remove this post and stop causing others to stumble by celebrating sin…. It is an absolute disgrace to Truett Cathy’s faith and the God he worships!” wrote another commenter, referring to the founder of the fast food chain.
Among those incensed by the post was the Family Research Council, a right-wing organization that espouses conservative family values and opposes LGBTQ rights and outward expressions of LGBTQ identity.
In an opinion column, Suzanne Bowdey, the editorial director of The Washington Stand, the FRC’s news and commentary outlet, criticized Chick-fil-A for failing to ensure that its franchisees align with the company’s purported conservative values.
“The fact that any location felt comfortable posting such a controversial message is further proof that the company hasn’t weeded out the LGBT extremism that sparked so much backlash just a couple of years ago,” Bowdey wrote.
Chick-fil-A’s earlier forays into the culture war occurred more than a decade ago, when then-CEO Dan Cathy publicly opposed same-sex marriage — prompting pro-LGBTQ groups to call for boycotts of the company.
The company was also criticized for donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations, including the conversion therapy group Exodus International and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which requires its leaders to affirm statements defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
More recently, it has shifted its charitable focus to “education, homelessness, and hunger.”
One of Bowdey’s chief objections is that Chick-fil-A has not only stopped donating to some of its previous beneficiaries, but has also begun contributing to organizations she says do not align with conservative values, including Covenant House, which has drawn criticism from social conservatives for hosting Drag Queen Story Hours.
Explaining what has galvanized conservatives against the fast food chain in recent years, Bowdey wrote: “More than anything, what should frustrate loyal customers is that — unlike the secular corporations that promoted this agenda for decades without apology — Chick-fil-A built a business model based almost entirely on faith. And frankly, that means they should be held to a higher standard.”
William Saki is celebrating his new “GAY” license plate after suing Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles for initially rejecting his request. Saki, who lives in the LGBTQ-friendly Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, argued the plate simply reflected his identity as a gay man and should be protected as free speech.
When Saki previously entered “GAY” into the BMV’s online registration tool, it rejected the request as “Inappropriate/Invalid.” The term had been on a list of nearly 62,000 prohibited plate words since 1996.
Among those terms: "QUEER", "HOMO," and even "LESBIAN."
Employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Hampton Medical Center in Virginia were reportedly warned in October that they could face discipline -- or even be fired -- for wearing or displaying rainbow-themed items, including official VA Pride lanyards.
The warning is the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to downplay or erase acknowledgment of LGBTQ identity under the guise of eliminating so-called "wokeness" and other references to identity-based characteristics deemed "divisive."
As reported by The Advocate, local leadership at the medical center sent out the directive citing an "executive order," though it was unclear whether that referred to Donald Trump’s directive banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal agencies, or his order declaring that the U.S. government recognizes only two biological sexes as valid.
Lucien Bates, a transgender man, says security guards threatened to arrest him after he used the women’s restroom at a Round1 arcade inside the North Riverside Park Mall in suburban Chicago. Bates, an Indiana resident, was visiting the venue on September 28 with his fiancé and a friend to play Dance Dance Revolution.
Bates, who presents as alt-masculine with facial hair and piercings, had just arrived at the arcade when he needed to use the restroom. He chose the women’s restroom, a decision he often makes in public because he feels safer there and is less likely to be harassed.
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