Don't Believe The Hype, It's Still Chick-fil-Hate

So, in addition to being purveyors of fried crap, of being homophobes and bigots, Chick-fil-A also lies.

See, they have gone to great lengths to downplay their past as an anti-LGBTQ company, following a nearly seven-year boycott by our community and our allies, but, yes, we’re not really surprised, Chick-fil-A is as anti-LGBTQ as ever.

Newly released tax filings show that as recently as 2017 the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave more than $1.8 million to a trio of groups with a record of anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Even more telling, the donations represent an increase over their Hate Donations from 2018; and here’s where your money, if you eat at Chick-fil-Hate, goes:

—$1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a religious organization that spreads an anti-LGBTQ message to college athletes and requires a strict “sexual purity” policy for its employees that bars any “homosexual acts.”

—$6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a “Christian residential home for trouble youth,” teaches boys that homosexuality is wrong, and that same-sex marriage is “rage against Jesus Christ and His values.”

—$150,000 to the Salvation Army, who have a long record of opposing legal protections for LGBTQ Americans.

In addition, Chick-fil-Hate is one of a dwindling number of companies that still refuses to include explicit protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in its employment non-discrimination policy; for that, the company has received a ‘Zero’ from the Human Rights Campaign in its annual buyers guide.

This all began back in 2012, when Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy whined that America is “inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.”

And when asked if that meant he, and his company, and their charitable wing, were anti-LGBTQ, Cathy replied, “Well, guilty as charged.”

A national boycott ensued, and, in the wake of the bad publicity, Chick-fil-A posted a Facebook statement that it would focus on making chicken and “leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

That, of course, was a lie; and now, as these new donations have become public, Chick-fil-A is once again trying to persuade us that they’ve changed their evil ways.

Chick-fil-A, Inc announced that the company had decided in 2017 to no longer donate to the Paul Anderson Youth Home moving forward. ... funny, that's the group they give the least amount of money, but they have not ended their contributions to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or Salvation Army by saying that those groups support summer sports camps and various children’s programs, respectively.

I guess if you send a kid to camp, we can overlook the anti-LGBTQ contributions?

Uh, that would be no.

It’s still hate, and it still tastes terrible.

Think Progress