Chick-fil-A CEO Calls Response to LGBT Activists a ‘Mistake,’ But Reaffirms His Commitment to Traditional Values

By: American Decency Staff

The head of Chick-fil-A called his company's response to LGBT activists' criticism about the restaurant's financial support for groups that don't support same-sex marriage and his decision to voice his own opinions about the issue a "mistake," but added that his personal stance on it has not drifted.

In an interview last week with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dan Cathy, 61, who serves as the fast-food chain's president and CEO, said that reflecting on the events of 2012 had helped him to emerge as a wiser individual.

"Every leader goes through different phases of maturity, growth and development and it helps by (recognizing) the mistakes that you make," Cathy said. "And you learn from those mistakes. If not, you're just a fool. I'm thankful that I lived through it and I learned a lot from it."

In July 2012 Cathy told The Biblical Recorder that the company "was supportive of the biblical definition of the family unit."

In a separate interview that summer with "The Ken Coleman Show," Cathy also said that America was "inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage." The organization was also revealed to be a financial backer of Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that does not endorse same-sex marriage.

Cathy's comments sparked anger from LGBT activists who organized boycotts of the restaurant. In response, those who endorsed the organization's stance, such as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, organized a day for customers to patronize the restaurant in support of its gay-marriage stance.

In turn, Chick-fil-A attempted to diffuse the ensuing controversy by saying that it did not turn away customers or employees on the basis of sexual orientation.

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