Image from chick-fil-a.com
Chick-fil-A chief executive officer and president, Dan Cathy, has recently come under fire for his comments printed in the Baptist Press. A public and devout Christian, Cathy shared his thoughts about his definition of family and marriage. He also discussed how his religion has influenced his leadership at the fast food restaurant chain.
Cathy is quoted in the article saying, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
Members and supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community criticize Cathy for his comments.
The media attention that Cathy’s comments have gotten are not necessary. While this is a newsworthy issue, it has been blown out of proportion.
Cathy has the right to express his thoughts. As a businessman Cathy is not discriminating against the LGBTQ community. His business serves everyone regardless of orientation. For him to refuse service to those of the LGBTQ community would be illegal. Cathy did not say anything explicitly discriminatory against the LGBTQ community. He simply shared his thoughts about family.
Read the article for yourself, it is listed in the sources.
Chick-fil-A’s Facebook page has seen a lot of comments, both applauding Cathy and condemning him.
Obviously this is a sensitive topic, but consumers can’t scold Cathy for having his opinion. Everyone cannot agree on this topic for various reasons, be it based on their religion or sexual orientation.
America has to deal with contrasting viewpoints. Cathy speaking out about his views is no big deal. He didn’t make a false generalization, or say a hurtful slur. He merely gave his definition of family as defined in The Bible.
Can we really be mad at him for that?
Sources:
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/19/chick-fil-a-and-gay-marriage-a-social-media-storm/?hpt=us_t3