Activists protest Chick-fil-A with kisses

Jim Fortier, left, and Mark Toomajian, kiss as they join about two dozen members of gay rights groups and others protesting outside the Decatur, Ga., Chick-fil-A restaurant Friday, Aug. 3, 2012. / AP Photo/David Tulis

Updated 9:54 PM ET

(CBS/AP) ATLANTA - Gay rights activists were kissing at Chick-fil-A stores across the country Friday, just days after the company set a sales record when customers flocked to the restaurants to show support for the fast-food chain president's opposition to same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, police were investigating graffiti at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Southern California. The graffiti on the side of a restaurant in Torrance said "Tastes like hate" and had a picture of a cow. No one has been arrested.

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"Kiss-in" protests at Chick-Fil-A

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The flap began last month when Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told a religious publication that the company backed "the biblical definition of a family" and later said: ""I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, `We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage."'

The statement infuriated same-sex marriage supporters, who planned the so-called kiss-in protests. To counter that demonstration, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and Fox News talk show host, declared Wednesday a Chick-fil-A appreciation day.

The Cathy family has never hid its Southern Baptist faith, even closing its restaurants on Sundays.

Gay marriage supporters, from left, Emmie Hesley, Cathy Dear and Amy Paffenroth hold signs in front of a Chick-fil-A in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

/ Nick Tomecek,AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News

Julie Romano, an organizer at the Decatur, Ga., store, just outside Atlanta, and opposes Cathy's stance, said she thinks the company president "is operating with cafeteria-style religion and a lot of people, extremist like him are, they pick and choose what it is they want to believe."

"As my sign said, Jesus said nothing about homosexuality. And Christianity is about loving people."

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Politicians flock to Chick-fil-A

The kiss-in comes two days after gay marriage foes delivered the chain a one-day sales record.

Hundreds of thousands of customers, many of them conservative Christians, attended "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" at more than 1,600 locations on Wednesday, following a call from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and Fox News talk-show host.

Chick-fil-A vice president Steve Robinson said the company won't release sales figures for Wednesday.

[morris2196]

Can someone explain to me why people are stirred up? Is Chick-fil-A being accused of discriminating against gay customers, employees, or what?

[expatriate2]

Anyone doubting the international aspects of the gay propaganda movement intended to force the homosexual agenda onto society, should examine the news in England. The owner of a bed and breakfast was told it was illegal for him to refuse a room to gay couples. A man criticizing a pro-gay law on Facebook was demoted in his work. The company Tesco sponsored a gay festival while dropping its sponsorship of a cancer charity event. In the press, critics of gay adoption "rights" are called "retarded homophobes." England now provides special notations on passports for gay parents. Gays protested against the Daily Mail because when 45% of the people said they approved of gays adopting children, the newspaper reported that most people did not approve.
As much as they would like to be seen as a persecuted minority group, gays are neither. Seeing the collective resistance against gay marriage across the nation, they simply changed their tactics and now have a "put it in your face" campaign that they hope will bring people to recognize their relationships as normal, even if it is normal only to them.

[expatriate2]

hypnotoad72 August 5, 2012 2:24 PM EDT
So, per my response above, how many of you have learned the original language and read the original, unfettered texts?
You haven't.
So you're placing a lot of faith in a lot of texts that have been reworded many times.
___________________________________________________________________
I have. But I have to comment that no "original texts" exist if you are talking about the 66 books of the Bible. There are some rather early copies but you are quite right about their heavy editing, insertions and additions. Early copies of Mark, for example, do not contain a resurrection scene and almost all legitimate scholars agree that 16:8 was the last verse in the earlier versions.
It is also fair to mention, however, that almost every major religion of the world (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, oriental philosophical religions, etc.) rejects homosexuality with the exception of the Unitarian Universal Church that appears to welcome it.

[MaryWaterton]

Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day set nationwide sales records for the company. The resounding success of the Chick-fil-A "eat in" and the miserable failure of the homosexual "kiss in" proves what I've been saying all along ... that the support for "homosexual marriage" is not nearly so deep and wide as the lying liberal news media has been saying.

That's why in states where the citizens were ALLOWED to vote on a constitutional amendment banning "homosexual marriage" the amendment passed easily ... 31 states so far with 0 defeats, including ultra-liberal California! The only states where it's legal are those states where it was FORCED on the citizens by a liberal democrat activist judge or a liberal democrat activist legislature.

[hypnotoad72]

So when the Bible folks go after all the shellfish that spawn before getting married?

They forget how frequently the religious texts have been updated/revised/etc and the veracity/ethics of translators.

Now people are free to learn the original Hebrew and find a copy of the original texts somewhere, but somehow it's easier (and more fun) to listen to someone else spout their spun take and give them money in return for an artery-clogging sandwich.

[cimalfm]

I have been following the news as well as other media to specifically listen to what was said by Mr. Cathy as well as the context in which it was said and I am distressed by the reaction. The man expressed his Biblically founded Christian view of marriage. To attack this statement is to attack the Christian Bible, the God who authorized it and the very foundation of the Christian Faith. I have heard a number of Christian believer's speak about expressing love to individuals on the opposing side of this issue and others have spoken of tolerance, but this is not as simple as it appears.
This type of love and tolerance means allowing the words and teachings of our Christian Bible to be either watered down, edited or totally rejected and replaced by the new "moral" code and anti-Christian ethics. To adhere to one's Christian beliefs is to be labeled, intimidated, and denied the freedom of expression and the right to worship. As Peter asked in the book of Acts, is it right to obey you rather than God? The so called protest has now spread to an attack on his charitable financial donations but just as much as the American Constitution gives him the right to free expression he also has the right to decide to whom and to what causes he chooses to support.
The apparent goal here is not about fairness, freedoms or even co-existence, but rather it's about the silencing of opposing views and total control and domination. You may disagree, but to me, that is inconsequential because I must stand firmly on the Word of God. We should not allow ourselves to be bullied seeing that we have the God given right to disagree with our fellow man no matter who they are.

[maryfields727]

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
NO, YOU HAVE NOT WON YOU WILL BE PUNISH FOR HAVING ''FORBIDEN SEX''.....

[xybex2004]

Mars is as gay as it gets. Why suffer on this one lonely planet? Open your eyes, the Universe is full of gay promises. There are Gay Astronauts now...they are accepted.

[AOCGUY]

I am a 60 year old straight white middle class male, husband,father, and grandfather. Spent almost 30 years in the military including command in combat. Own a house in the suburbs, go to work every day and vote in every election. As far as I know, none of my relativers are gay although I do know a few gay people including a retired combat vet who now works as a defense contractor supporting the Special Operations Command. When I was younger I was most defintely a homophobe, although I had no reason for being so since I had no known contact with homosexuals at that time. Although I am not a regular church goer I do consider myself a Christian.

Given all that I am at a loss to understand all the commotion over Chick-fil-A. The CEO stated his beliefs on gay marriage on a conservative talk show (imagine that) and those that support same sex marriage spoke out in opposition to his comments (again big surprise). Those that suppirted the CEO, in a fit of moral outrage and false outrage over some suspected attempt to silence free speech oragnized a Chick-fil-A day. (Knock yourslves out dudes). In reposnse or maybe even prior to that demonstration the opposition organizes a Kiss-in (seems kind of stupid but again - knock yourselves out). In the end this is really just an overblown demonstration of free speech on both sides of the issue without actully changing anyones minds but making CBS and all the other news outlest (and yes that includes FOX) a lot of money. Everyone happy now?

[AOCGUY]

BTW, I have been accused of being a liberal, democrat, gay, etc on this site. I have also been accused of being a right wing war monger, also on this site. Of course I am none of those nor am I a democrat or a republican (I did use to be a republican but then I discovered morals)

[AOCGUY]

Stalinist tactics? You measn the same ones used against Disney in 2006 when the Conservative Right called for a boycott because of Disney's support of gay rights?

[AOCGUY]

OK here is the deal, I'm not going to search back several pages because you think you asked me a question but here goes anyway. You implied, whether that was your intention or not that homosexuality and pedophilia were somehow connected which is blatantly false. So you posted patently false information and now you are upset that you were called out for it.