Chick-Fil-A Controversy

Does having a Chick-Fil-A on FSU’s campus discriminate against the gay community?

The president of the company is now Dan Cathy

Chick-Fil-A

was started in

1946 by S.

Truett Cathy

The claim is that Chick-

Fil-A donates

millions of dollars to

foundations that are

against gay and lesbian

rights.

This controversy started in 2008 when Chick-Fil-A donated food to a group called Family Life. This group is very outspoken against homosexuality

Dan Cathy says “providing sandwiches and brownies for a local seminar is not an endorsement or a political stance”

This foundation has expressed

anti-homosexual views and gives money to other

foundations who do as well

One of the

main

groups that

Chick-Fil-A

donates to

is

WinShape

Foundation

Chick-Fil-A started this foundation in 1984

Because Chick-Fil-A

gives money to these charities, the LBGT

community at FSU would

discriminated against if a Chick-Fil-A were to be on campus

All of these foundations

have expressed anti-gay

views

WinShape gives money to groups such as Alliance Defense Fund, National Christian

Foundation, and Exodus International

Opinions

Andrew Spice (Student at FSU): “I just have a problem with their obvious, and unfortunately socially accepted, bigotry. I don’t understand why America allows a company that openly discriminates against a group of people, in this case the LGBTQ people. And so I refuse to eat their chicken, and I hope that others do the same”

Frank Jaffe (Executive Director of FSU’s PRIDE): “There is very little direct discrimination to the LGBTQ community, [but] we knew there was enough behind the scenes discrimination going on.”

Jose Diaz (Student at FGCU): "I don't go there because they're a Christian organization. I go there because they make good chicken sandwiches," he said. "Just because the campus has a Chick-Fil-A doesn't mean that they're saying they're anti-gay."

Also, Dan Cathy says that while his family believes in the biblical definition of marriage, they support and respect anyone who does not share this belief

President Barron of FSU says that this restaurant got the most support from students but they can also choose not to support it by not eating there, he says “there is power of the pocketbook in where students decide to spend money”

Tolerance is a two way street

FSU encourages a type of tolerance

where if two groups have different

views they can just agree to disagree

Students are saying that the gay and lesbian

community is not being tolerant of this companies religious views

One student and Chick-Fil-A employee says “if one company says ‘we have the right to donate to something we

believe in,’ then by banning that [company], you’re saying, ‘no, you

don’t.’ So in that effect, their aim to be tolerant is making them intolerant”

These schools include, NYU, FGCU, and

University of North Texas

Similar instances have been arising at other schools in

the country Students at these schools have held protests and started petitions to ban

the restaurant from coming onto their campus

In a recent special

election, 58.7 percent of students

at FSU voted “no” to banning

Chick-Fil-A from campus

Solution

Ultimately there could be a solution of choosing a different restaurant go on

campus but it is pretty certain that the Chick-Fil-A is going to be built at FSU