(Newser)
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If there was any doubt about the political stance of Chick fil-A's owners, the company president and COO hopes to put the flap to rest. Yes, Chick fil-A is absolutely opposed to gay marriage, Dan Cathy has announced. "We're guilty as charged" when it comes to supporting "traditional family values," said the smiling prez. The roasted chicken-pushing biz is "very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit," he explained to the Baptist Press. "We are a family-owned business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy stressed.
"We intend to stay the course," he said. "It might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can operate on biblical principles." He said in a radio interview this week that children in gay marriages are "emotionally handicapped," and that non-traditional marriage is "inviting God's judgment on our nation." The $4 billion-a-year business with 1,600 outlets, founded by Cathy's father in 1946, has donated some $4 million to anti-gay groups since 2009 in the battle against gay marriage, reports the New York Daily News. The company's contributions to anti-gay organizations triggered a decision by Northeastern University earlier this year to dump plans for a Chick fil-A outlet on campus, according to the Boston Globe.
