People came out in droves to Chick-Fil-A restaurants on Wednesday August 1^st  to purchase food.  What does this mean? If you have been living in an Olympic-themed cocoon, I’ll explain.

The CEO of Chick-Fil-A was interviewed last month by “The Biblical Reporter” (as reported in The Baptist Press). When asked about opposition his company has received on its position supporting traditional families, CEO Dan Cathy said, “Well, guilty as charged.” He elaborated, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

The liberal left and the media (but I repeat myself!) took this statement as an attack against gay people and gay rights.  Many said Cathy’s position is bigoted and hateful. The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, has decided that a company that doesn’t fall in line with his political views should not be allowed to exist; at least not in “his” city.  A member of the Philadelphia city council and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel agree with this position: if you disagree with the ruling party in government, we don’t want you doing business here.

Let’s examine the facts:

1. Dan Cathy is espousing a biblical worldview. Those of you who, like me, believe that Jesus Christ was a literal man who walked the earth two thousand years ago as the sinless incarnation of God will no doubt agree that, in God’s eyes, marriage is between a man and a woman.  That is the biblical pattern established in God’s act of creating Adam and Eve, His act of providing at least one male and female animal for the ark (only one of each for the unclean animals), and in the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said in Matthew 19:4-6, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
2. Non-Christians, the Left, and others do not share this worldview.  Much like a man stating that “pickle flavored ice cream is the best flavor in the world,” they cannot comprehend how this view could possibly be true.  It rails against everything they believe (“If it feels good, do it.” “If it makes me happy, it’s ok.” “There are no moral absolutes.”)
3. Chick-Fil-A is a company that is free to make their own policies and positions within the guidelines of the laws of the United States of America.  As the CEO of the company, Dan Cathy is authorized to guide the company to financial prosperity however he and his shareholders see fit.
4. The United States of America is still a free-market capitalist society.  In this type of economy, the consumer ultimately decides which companies will succeed and which companies will fail.  If a company comes out in support of something that 99% of Americans find morally repugnant, that company (in a free-market society) will fail, because people will not want to buy their products nor even be associated with it.  Let’s say there was a store that came out in support of domestic violence.  Would you shop there?  Would anybody you know shop there?  That store would not be open for long.

Given the above facts, Dan Cathy did nothing wrong in stating his company’s position on marriage and the family.  He never said he hates gay people. He never said anything at all about gay people in the interview. Yet he (and his company) are under attack by gay rights groups.

They state, “You can’t push your morality on me!” and yet they are now trying to do just that by forcing Bible-believing Christians to agree that homosexuality is morally acceptable. If these people are honest in their cries for “tolerance” and against “bigotry,” then why don’t they tolerate my right to think they are wrong?  Why don’t they give up their bigotry against Christianity? The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (tenth edition) defines a bigot as, “a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.”  Sound like any liberals you know?

This is not the first time a group has tried to force their views on the rest of us. I remember a cookie company in Indianapolis called “Just Cookies” that came under fire in 2010 because they chose not to sell cookies supporting gay pride. Gay rights groups protested that business, stating that they felt discriminated against because a private company chose not to support their political position, something that the City of Indianapolis ultimately decided was within their rights to do.

The whole point of today’s action at Chick-fil-a was to show the media and the liberals in government that we the people will not sit idly by while they attack a company that doesn’t toe their party line. The people of Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and the rest of the country should have the right to choose where they will buy their chicken sandwiches, regardless of the will of the ruling political party.  Barring Chick-fil-a from opening a restaurant is not only morally reprehensible, but illegal and against the very fabric of our society.

What do you call a system where only government-approved businesses may operate freely?  Yes, Virginia, it’s called “communism.”