07/25/2012

Washington– The Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization – staged a protest outside of a Chick-fil-A food truck in downtown Washington, D.C. today. Nearly 30 HRC supporters gathered in front of the food truck to pass out fact sheets to customers and raise awareness about the millions of dollars the company has donated to anti-LGBT organizations.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy has embraced his fast food chain’s anti-LGBT discriminatory donations, declaring “guilty as charged” when questioned about them in a recent interview and even saying that supporting marriage equality was akin to “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.”

“HRC is sending a loud and clear message to Chick-fil-A: we will not rest until your consumers know that you take their money and hand it over to groups that actively work to demonize LGBT people,” said HRC Vice President of Communications Fred Sainz. “Consumers should have all the facts about Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBT history, and then make informed decisions about whether they want to continue to support a business that proudly touts its connections to discriminatory groups. Organizations and elected officials from the Jim Henson Company to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino have already spoken out against Chick-fil-A’s practices – we look forward to hearing other fair-minded companies and organizations follow suit.”

Late last week, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino released a letter explaining why he could not support Chick-fil-A in his city; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel soon followed suit and agreed that Chick-fil-A’s discriminatory practices didn’t have a place in Chicago. The Jim Henson Company also has severed business ties with Chick-fil-A.

Pictures from today’s protest are available via HRC’s Flickr stream. Supporters can sign HRC's Chick-fil-a pledge at www.hrc.org/chick-fil-a.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.