Chick-Fil-A: Fast Food or Evil Empire?

So what's the hot topic of the moment? 

Same-sex marriage: it receives a remarkable amount of news coverage on a daily basis, especially when one of the leaders of a major fast-food chain state that they do not believe in the marriage of same-sex couples. 

These are my thoughts:

Same-Sex Marriage

Marriage is the act of uniting with a person in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. It is true, of course, that many marriages are also recognized by religious institutions, but it does not have to be.

Raised Catholic, I know that getting married through the Catholic Church has a sort of application process, if you will. The Church, protected by the Thomas Jefferson principle of the separation of church and state, given to the citizens of the United States in the 1st Amendment of our Constitution ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."), has the right to turn away couples if they do not seem fit for a Catholic union (i.e. living together before marriage).

This right will not and absolutely cannot (at least not Constitutionally) change if the United States allows for legal acknowledgement of same-sex marriage. Therefore, the religious sentiments of one group or another should not matter in the debate of legality. If the two parties hoping to be married have consensual wishes and both are able to enter into a legal contract, then so be it. 

Hooray! Love is beautiful in all ways, shapes, and forms.

Chick-fil-A

Similarly to the freedom of religion, the Founding Fathers also protected our freedom of speech in the 1st Amendment (continuing from the quote in the above section, "...or abridging the freedom of speech"). However, this argument goes above and beyond the simple, "He has the right to say what he wants!"

As a privately-owned company, Chick-fil-A has the ability to run its company the way it sees fit. The Cathy family, who owns it, is a Christian family. It has never been a secret that the company runs on the family's biblical values. For example, all Chick-fil-A establishments are closed on Sunday to honor the Christian Sabbath. 

Dan Cathy, the current president, made a statement in an interview for an article-to-be for the Baptist Press (Fancy that! A Christian paper...) that he and his family 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." [Full article: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271]

It can be understood that by saying, "the biblical definition of the family unit" Cathy meant a husband, a wife, and however many children might come of that couple. This is the Christian belief and it can be assumed that such a well-known Christian man would also believe in that principle.

However, (if you read it) you notice that not once in the entire article did the man say anything one might think of as homophobic or bigoted. He didn't say anything negative about the LGBT community. The man simply stated that he was supportive of the biblical definition of the family unit. The only thing that he did slam is divorce (in an indirect way).

I have no problem with what Dan Cathy said, because (a) "He has the right to say what he wants!" and (b) he did not bash any member of the LGBT community or even say anything politically incorrect (Although, I barely even know what that means anymore).

Another thing that I keep reading from my news feed on Facebook and in online newspapers, is people questioning why the company has an opinion on marriage at all.

The thing is, Chick-fil-A did not broadcast this belief to the general public. They never 'entered the gay marriage policy debate.' Dan Cathy was simply asked about his and his family's support of the 'traditional' family by a Christian newspaper. The man answered honestly, because truthfulness is also a Christian principle that he believes in. He made no effort to argue for it or against it. He just flatly stated his opinion.

Media outlets got a hold of this interview, throwing the company into the debate, and shamelessly (as always) plastering an "anti-gay" label across the face of this family and company.

Let me be absolutely clear: Dan Cathy (or any other member of the Cathy family) is no Fred Phelps and Chick-fil-A is no Westboro Baptist Church. This company is not out to preach their religion. This company has one thing in mind: delicious food (mmm... waffle fries).

After this whole uproar, Chick-fil-A added this to their website's FAQ page [http://www.chick-fil-a.com/FAQ#?category=1]:

"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.

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.

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." 

If the company showed, in any way, that it was homophobic or bigoted, then my stance on the company would change. For example, if he were condoning the turning away customers or refusing to hire individuals who were members of the LGBT community, then I would be very displeased.

However, Chick-fil-A remains an outstanding company. The Christian principles that this family chooses to run on are in no way affecting its customers in any way other than not being able to devour a delicious spicy chicken sandwich on a Sunday afternoon (at least not a fresh one...).

It's just fast food, people!

Bonus Thoughts

I have heard many times over, "This country was founded on Christian beliefs," as an argument defending the anti-gay marriage ideal. It is true that the Founding Fathers were Christians, but think about something for me. Would the Founding Fathers have given us the freedom of religion and religious practice, if they had meant that we could only freely practice their religion?

The word 'intolerant', in all forms, is a paradox.

Hello Blogging World!

This post is to serve as an introduction for myself and a bit of a disclaimer.

This blog of mine will be mostly for big news events that I feel strongly about. Mostly, it will be just a place for me to display my opinions. I have a lot of them and I have needed a place to store them for a while. My brain has illuminated the 'no' on its vacancy sign (Death Cab, anyone?).

Let me put this out there, so you have a basic idea of the point of view I come from: I am a 21-year-old senior at a public college. I was raised in a conservative (politically), Catholic household in the Midwest and went to Catholic school from pre-school until I graduated high school. At the moment, I have no political affiliation and, while I still fully respect the Catholic faith and everything it has given me, I am currently not practicing any particular religion.

Disclaimer: I am not intending to offend anyone with my posts, as I am only stating my opinion. As you will come to see, I believe that the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing and therefore value the United States Constitution dearly. I will use it many times in any legal points I make. 

I think that's it... so here we go!