Chick-fil-A opens Sunday to help Orlando victims, despite anti-gay-rights record
Chick-fil-A operates under Christian values, which means it doesn’t support gay marriage and it closes every Sunday for the day of rest.
Every location has closed every Sunday since the restaurant’s founding in 1946, according to the Chick-fil-A website. But the restaurant set that aside in order to help the Orlando LGBT community last Sunday.
At least two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Orlando opened, not to serve the public, but to make food for those donating blood to the victims of the Orlando shooting that killed 49. The shooter, who expressed support for Islamic terrorist groups and made frequent comments against gay people, entered a gay nightclub in Orlando around 2 a.m. Sunday and started shooting. Another 53 were injured and taken to the hospital.
Later that day, blood donors were so numerous in Orlando that OneBlood asked donors to stop coming and return in a few days, because they were at capacity. And Chick-fil-A decided to help those donors by going in Sunday, despite the longtime policy, cooking food and handing it out to donors.
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy has frequently made comments saying he does not support same-sex marriage. The day after the United States Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Cathy tweeted, “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.” Cathy later deleted the tweet.
It’s unclear whose idea it was to have employees come in on Sunday to cook the food, but at least two locations opened.
The Chick-fil-A of University Blvd at Rouse Road commented on a Facebook post about the support:
“Our restaurant, along with a couple of others in the area, simply responded just like numerous other Orlando businesses and residents have done -- we came together as a community to lift those in need.”
This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 6:13 AM with the headline "Chick-fil-A opens Sunday to help Orlando victims, despite anti-gay-rights record."