Chick-fil-A is back in the hot seat over gay marriage. This time, however, the tables are turned. A Chicago alderman, Joe Moreno, announced that he was dropping his opposition to the fried-chicken purveyor's plans to build a new restaurant on his turf, after the company sent him a letter essentially promising to stop donating money to groups who actively oppose same-sex marriage. Gay rights activists, who had been boycotting Chick-fil-A since CEO Dan Cathy said he believed in the "biblical definition" of marriage, cheered. Gay-marriage opponents, however, are furious. Is the chicken chain going to face another boycott over its social policies?
This backlash will be worse than the first: Chick-fil-A faced a firestorm for opposing gay marriage, says Doug Stanglin at USA Today, but that was nothing compared to the fury it's facing now from gay-marriage opponents. They had flocked to the restaurant in solidarity, and now they're crushed that the company has apparently "caved." As one commenter on Chick-fil-A's Facebook page put it, the company now has "a whole new group of people who will no longer support" it.
"Chick-fil-A's 'cave' stirs new backlash"
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Maybe liberal businesses should brace themselves: I understand why Chick-fil-A would want to "forfeit their status as a national political lightning rod," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. Still, it's "depressing to see them cave" — and I support gay marriage. Letting liberal politicians "bully" you into withholding money from your favorite political causes "sets a terrible precedent." Maybe now red-staters will withhold zoning permits from liberal business-owners until they take "a solemn vow not to give money to the Left anymore."
Relax. Nothing has changed: Ecstatic gay marriage supporters are claiming victory, says Dave Tombers at WorldNetDaily, but "it appears the facts are that the company's anti-discrimination policy remains just as it was months ago — before the controversy over owner Dan Cathy’s Christian beliefs erupted." Then, as now, the company promises to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect," and then, as now, it has said it wants nothing to do with politics. Why should the people who flocked to Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day be upset about that?
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