Jul 25, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
CHICAGO (CBS) — The gay rights group Equality Illinois is launching a campaign against Chick-Fil-A – petitioning universities and lawmakers to evict the fast food restaurant from their campuses and planning a “kiss-in” campaign by gay and lesbian couples outside Chick-Fil-A restaurants.
The campaign by the group comes just after Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno (1st) announced plans to block efforts by Chick-Fil-A to open a second Chicago restaurant, because the company’s president vocally opposes same-sex marriage.
The campaign by Equality Illinois, dubbed “Flick-the-Hate,” urges people to sign a petition geared toward universities and malls that host Chick-Fil-A restaurants.
“As we challenge the company’s anti-LGBT policies, we must also ask these universities and mall owners why they want to do business with a company that holds up hate as a family value,” Equality Illinois says.
Equality Illinois is also urging Chicagoans who support gay rights to participate in an “Eat for Love Day” on Wednesday, Aug. 1. The organization is urging people to eat at a local restaurant that supports LGBT rights and “is unafraid to show its support for equality for everyone.”
The group is asking participants to post where they are planning on eating and sent pictures. Two Boystown restaurants – the Chicago Diner at 3411 N. Halsted St., and the Hearty Boys restaurant at 3819 N. Broadway – are among those participating.
And on Friday, Aug. 3, Equality Illinois is urging gay and lesbian couples to go to their local Chick-Fil-A restaurants for a “kiss-in” campaign, which the group is promoting along with other gay rights organizations nationwide.
At the “kiss-in,” Equality Illinois says, “LGBT supporters will show their disdain for Chick-Fil-A’s policies with public displays of affection in front of their restaurants.”
Chick-Fil-A has drawn a flurry of controversy ever since an article profiling the company ran last week on the Christian news site Baptist Press.
