Missouri group cancels Chick-fil-a president's visit because of anti-gay donations
Sun. March 13, 2011 10:30 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Clayton, Missouri -
A suburban St. Louis business group has told Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-a that they'd rather he not speak to their group after all, after learning about Chick-fil-a's support of anti-gay groups.
Cathy was supposed to be the guest speaker at the Focus St. Louis and Clayton Chamber of Commerce event on March 18.
But then a GLBT group, Promo, let the chamber know about Chick-fil-a's donation to an anti-gay "family" group in Pennsylvania last year.
"We are a pro-diversity culture here and certainly don't want to offend anyone," Chamber president Ellen Gale told StLToday.com. "We didn't know anything about this when he was booked."
Chick-fil-a was founded by Dan Cathy's father, S. Truett Cathy, who was a devout Christian. He is the one who started the still-standing policy of having all locations closed on Sunday.
The Georgia-based fast food chain maintains fundamentalist roots and has previously been connected to Focus on the Family, the anti-gay Colorado group founded by James Dobson.
The company's statement of purpose reads in part: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us."
Chick-fil-a has more than 1,500 locations in 39 states.
Cathy was supposed to be the guest speaker at the Focus St. Louis and Clayton Chamber of Commerce event on March 18.
But then a GLBT group, Promo, let the chamber know about Chick-fil-a's donation to an anti-gay "family" group in Pennsylvania last year.
"We are a pro-diversity culture here and certainly don't want to offend anyone," Chamber president Ellen Gale told StLToday.com. "We didn't know anything about this when he was booked."
Chick-fil-a was founded by Dan Cathy's father, S. Truett Cathy, who was a devout Christian. He is the one who started the still-standing policy of having all locations closed on Sunday.
The Georgia-based fast food chain maintains fundamentalist roots and has previously been connected to Focus on the Family, the anti-gay Colorado group founded by James Dobson.
The company's statement of purpose reads in part: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us."
Chick-fil-a has more than 1,500 locations in 39 states.