Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employees Speak Out

On Wednesday — dubbed “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — lines are stretching out the front door and the parking lot is packed with customers coming out to support company chief executive Dan Cathy, who recently came out against same-sex marriage with statements that have polarized lovers of the fast-food chain.

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been working at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A since January, sat in his car smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd during a break earlier Wednesday.

“I call it hater appreciation day,” said Andrew, who asked that his last name be withheld out of fear he’d be fired. “It’s very, very depressing.”

Chick-fil-A has long come under fire from activists for giving millions to groups that advocate against gay rights and even support ex-gay therapy, but the fire has ratcheted up in recent weeks, following interviews in which Cathy said he was “guilty as charged” of supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit” and that gay marriage invites “God’s judgment on our nation.”