The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation heralded Chick-fil-A’s decision to part ways with two Christian charities by demanding they do more to change their “anti-LGBTQ” brand.
“In addition to refraining from financially supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations, Chick-fil-A still lacks policies to ensure safe workplaces for LGBTQ employees and should unequivocally speak out against the anti-LGBTQ reputation that their brand represents,” Drew Anderson, GLAAD’s director of campaigns, said in a Monday statement to CNN.
Anderson said the company’s decision to stop donating to several Christian organizations, including the Salvation Army, Paul Anderson Youth Home, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, should be met with “cautious optimism.” The charitable organizations all believe marriage is between a man and woman.
“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A president and CEO, said. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.” The company claimed they are not excluding Christian organizations from future donation consideration, but that they want to refocus on donating to education, homelessness, and hunger.
The decision by Chick-fil-A was met with outrage by conservatives who said the company was caving to cultural leftists. “Congrats to the wokescolds who finally bullied Chick-Fil-A into stopping donations to the Salvation Army and their ‘bigoted’ history of helping the poor and helpless,” Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw said Tuesday on Twitter. “Real big accomplishment for the progressives. Hope you’re happy.”
[Opinion: Chick-fil-A’s shameful capitulation in the culture war]
“Well … @ChickfilA bowed to the ‘made to care’ harassment lobby,” Rep. Chip Roy, another Texas Republican, said Monday.
Well… @ChickfilA bowed to the “made to care” harassment lobby… but yeah. https://t.co/sqpxGbZIQf
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 18, 2019
Chick-fil-A’s decision comes after the company was forced to close a U.K.-based restaurant after gay protesters campaigned against them. The company has also faced resistance in Canada from gay groups after they opened their first store in Toronto in September.
