Yesterday was August 1st, which means that Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, supported by two of the most relevant voices in the GOP today (Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum), took place in malls and suburban strip mall parking lots across the nation.
Across the country, thousands of people lined up for Chick-fil-A, packing stores, winding through mall thoroughfares, all ardently voicing their support for traditional marriage.
“I believe what the Bible says (about marriage),” Chauncy Fields told Fox News while “wolfing down” their signature breakfast of chicken and biscuits. “So I came out here to support Chick-fil-A and the movement.”
Since there are so many issues of national importance packed into the act of buying a humble chicken sandwich, we’re gonna break down the fallout of yesterday into bullet points:
- More conservative politicians, spurred by the enormous display of support for a pro-family values company, got in on the action, with members of Congress, prominently including Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), tweeting out photos of Chick-fil-A takeout in their offices. Old presidential candidates, like Newt Gingrich, showed their faces at their local Chick-fil-As as well.
- On the progressive side, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-SF) was more muted than her mayoral colleagues’ ban-heavy attitudes towards Chick-fil-A: “For the record,” she tweeted, “I prefer Kentucky Fried Chicken. #chickfila”
- Speaking of mayors, many of the Chick-fil-A supporters stated that they’d shown up not because they personally had feelings against gay marriage, but because they were outraged that the government would try to ban a business for its CEO’s beliefs. “I’m not getting myself involved in the issue of gay marriage and all that, I’m not getting involved in a religious debate,” said Gwylim McDrew to the LA Times.
- To counter the lines of people, hundreds of pro-LGBT rights supporters organized protests outside of Chick-fil-As across the nation. Prominently, this Friday, GLAAD will celebrate “National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A,” where they encourage same-sex couples to send photos and videos of themselves kissing at the restaurant. Cleverest slogan to come out of this so far? “Kiss Mor Chiks.”
- In a capitalist society, competition drives business — which is why Chick-fil-A’s competition is jumping into the fray. A major Wendy’s franchise owner in the Carolinas put up a sign stating “WE STAND WITH CHICK FIL A” (and was quickly asked by corporate to take it down).
- Not everyone at Chick-fil-A opposes gay marriage, though. Anthony Piccola, a franchise manager for a New Hampshire branch, announced that he would continue to sponsor his town’s gay pride festival. He’ll be giving out sandwiches at the “Unity through Community” parade on August 11th.
- Huffington Post asks us to think of the workers — specifically, the gay employees of the chain who’ve had to deal with harrassment from both sides of the aisle, as well as paranoia stemming from their peers’ views. Though all of the chain’s employees are supposed to stay neutral, “it seems like very few people have stopped to think about who actually works for Chick-fil-A and what those people’s opinions are,” a gay employee told the site “They are putting us in a pot and coming to support us or hate us based on something they heard and assume we agree with.”
- And finally, it’s not a real scandal until John Goodman puts on a Colonel Sanders outfit and opines about it for Funny or Die.
Whew. Did we miss anything?
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