How about chicken served with a side of discrimination? That’s the way many in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered) community saw the unprecedented support for Chick-fil-A after Mike Huckabee sided with Chick-fil-A’s CEO, Dan Cathy, by calling for a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”  Cathy commented in an interview that he supports traditional families and marriage.  And support it he does. Let me tie the pieces together for you.

Equality Matters is a media organization that supports full equality for the LGBT community, while correcting anti-gay misinformation.  In a report released in early July, Equality Matters reported that Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm distributed almost $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010.  There are several of these groups that concern the LGBT community.  They are Exodus International, Family Research Council, and National Organization for Marriage. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Family Research Council as a “hate group” that promotes propaganda against the LGBT community, usually in the form of claims that are found to have no scientific basis. The FRC was one of 13 organizations singled out by the SPLC in a winter 2010 Intelligence Report. In 2010, an FRC lobbying report shows that they paid $25,000 to two lobbyists in an effort to stop Congress from approving a resolution denouncing Uganda for passing legislation that would allow homosexuals to be executed. Their crime—being themselves.

In addition to executing gays, the proposed Ugandan bill also would make it a crime to fail turn in someone who is gay. This bill was largely supported by another hate group, National Organization for Marriage (NOM). 

The National Organization for Marriage previously partnered with Chick-fil-A on some business related ventures. NOM is also listed as a hate group by SPLC for providing misinformation and saying it so loudly that politicians and religious leaders repeat it, even louder.

Exodus International is a ministry based out of Orlando that offers to help Christians to rid themselves of unwanted homosexual inclinations through counseling and prayer.  This reparative therapy, according to the American Psychological Association, has little evidence of actually changing sexual orientation and says that it may cause potential harm.

As I watched news reports on the number of cars waiting for hours at the drive-thru and walk-in counters, I was dismayed by the number of Americans who would support such archaic ideology. Consumer support gave Chick-fil-A a day of record-setting sales. Yes, there were counter protests, but those were severely lacking in numbers.

This comes together on the VSU campus in the form of a Chick-fil-A express. Many in the LGBT community on campus are upset after the move over the summer of the Chick-fil-A from the University Center to the main campus, especially in light of Cathy’s comments. There is much debate on how VSU should address this issue.  The student handbook does have a clause in its “Equal Opportunity Statement” where sexual orientation is protected.

If we, as a campus, are supposed to stop a multitude of discriminations including sexual orientation, then why aren’t we refusing to do business with a company that would openly support hate groups?  Other campuses and cities have stopped Chick-fil-A from opening on their campuses and neighborhoods. With the lines that I have seen in the Student Union, snaking its way through the rope stands, a chicken sandwich served with a side of homophobia looks like it is here to stay.