Today’s news reports that the Boy Scouts and the chicken sandwich purveyor Chick-Fil-A confirm their anti-gay stances.
From Reuters:
The Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday said the organization would continue to deny gay people membership, saying that the policy “is in the best interest of Scouting.”
The decision is the result of a two-year evaluation by the organization prompted by repeated criticism, as well as support, for the policy, the organization said in a statement.
“The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers, and at the appropriate time and in the right setting,” said Bob Mazzuca, chief scout executive of Boy Scouts of America.
Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A, as reported in On Top Magazine, has conceded that his company is opposed to gay marriage. In an interview with the Christian publication the Baptist Press,
Cathy answered, “Well, guilty as charged,” when asked about his company’s record of supporting groups opposed to marriage equality.
“We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit,” Cathy said. “We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. … We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.”
Last year, as the company’s links to anti-gay groups came under increased scrutiny, Cathy announced that his company would no longer “champion any political agendas on marriage and family” and claimed that Chick-Fil-A has “no agenda against anyone.”
According to Equality Matters, Chick-Fil-A donated $3 million to groups opposed to gay rights, including the Family Research Council (FRC) and Exodus International, between 2003 and 2009. In 2010, the company gave more than $1.9 million to such groups, more than any other year for which public records are available.