Huckabee: Chick-fil-A hasn’t changed
Dismissing reports the company had changed its stance on gay marriage under pressure, Chick-fil-A has not altered its “practices and priorities,” nor has it made any “concessions” to convince a Chicago alderman to back down from his effort to block a new restaurant, Mike Huckabee said Friday as he posted a statement given to him by the fast-food chain.
Huckabee — who declared a “Chick-fil-A” appreciation day this summer after the chain’s president publicly affirmed the company’s opposition to same-sex marriage — announced the chain’s statement on his website.
“There continues to be erroneous implications in the media that Chick-fil-A changed our practices and priorities in order to obtain permission for a new restaurant in Chicago. That is incorrect,” the fast-food chain’s statement read, according to the former Arkansas governor. “Chick-fil-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we have been.”
Huckabee noted on his website that he “talked earlier today personally with Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick Fil-A about the new reports that Chick Fil-A had capitulated to demands of the supporters of same sex marriage. This is not true. The company continues to focus on the fair treatment of all of its customers and employees, but to end confusion gave me this statement.”
Chick-fil-A did not respond to requests for comment from POLITICO.
Chicago alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno on Wednesday told The Chicago Tribune the fast-food chain agreed that it would not contribute to groups that oppose same-sex marriage and would give all employees an internal document including a statement of respect for all people, regardless of backgrounds. Moreno said he would therefore allow the company to open a shop in his ward.
Moreno’s office has yet to respond to request for comment regarding Chick-fil-A’s Friday statement.
The fast-food chain on Wednesday released a statement to POLITICO in response to Moreno’s account, saying “the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” later adding that “going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
Moreno’s Wednesday announcement had resulted in a number of news headlines — such ABC News’s “ Chick-Fil-A Re-Evaluates Funding for Anti-Gay Marriage Groups,” New York Magazine’s “ Chick-fil-A Suddenly Very Wishy-Washy About Its Stance on Gay Marriage” and CBS News’s “ Chick-fil-A backs away from same-sex marriage fray” — that alluded to the company’s stance on gay marriage.