All nine members of the Pittsburgh City Council have signed on to a letter demanding that fast-food chain Chick-fil-A be dumped as a sponsor of the community’s annual Three Rivers Marathon. The council members are taking their cue from a local homosexual activist who earlier complained that the wholesome family values demonstrated by Chick-fil-A’s owners equate to the hatred of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and “queer” (LGBTQ) individuals.
In September, organizers of the Three Rivers Marathon announced that the family-friendly and Christian-owned fast-food franchise would serve as the main partner for a one-mile kids’ marathon slated for the May 4 Three Rivers Marathon weekend, and would also help sponsor the Kids of Steel initiative, a nutrition program for children throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
“We’re grateful to Chick-fil-A for their support and are thrilled they share our commitment to inspiring the next generation of runners throughout the Pittsburgh region,” said Troy Schooley, a Three Rivers Marathon vice president.
But in a terse letter, the nine council members demanded that the marathon organizers “remove Chick-fil-A as the title sponsor” of the kids marathon.
“The leadership of Chick-fil-A has openly and passionately promulgated hateful beliefs against the LGBTQIA+ community,” the council members charged. “Additionally, the company has financed organizations staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and non-discrimination laws and other groups that equate ‘homosexual behavior and lifestyles’ with lawlessness and in opposition to the ‘foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society.’”
The government officials went on to warn that “Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship of an event designed to encourage healthy living represents a significant setback for Pittsburgh as we continue our work to build a more progressive and welcoming city for all people regardless of who they are or who they love. Most importantly, its sponsorship sends the wrong message to LBGTQIA+ children and families who face psychological abuse and experience the effects of bullying at disproportionate rates.”
The city council’s letter represented an echo of the earlier demands made by Sue Kerr, a Pittsburgh area homosexual activist and moderator of the Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents blog, who called Chick-fil-A’s involvement a “divisive, hurtful choice” on the part of the Three Rivers Marathon. “Chick-fil-A is actively and aggressively anti-LGBTQ,” Kerr wrote in her blog post, insisting that marathon officials “can’t create an event that is safe and affirming of us, especially our young people, if you take money from a company that works to eradicate our identities and our peace of mind. Children cannot run under the banner of a company that believes their sexual orientation and gender identity is something that can be cured or healed.”
She added: “And then, of course, we have the warped views of human sexuality … which play a significant role in perpetuating rape culture. We don’t need our marathon to be a breeding ground for young people to absorb these horrible lessons about their own sexuality and their respect for others.”
Pittsburgh’s public schools have also parroted Kerr’s rhetoric, with the school board passing a resolution condemning Chic-fil-A’s sponsorship of the kids’ marathon. The resolution prohibits teachers or other district employees from any official participation or promotion of the kids marathon or Kids of Steel program, with the resolution charging that “the family-owned, privately held restaurant company has expressed views contrary to and in conflict with the district’s non-discrimination policies.”
A few weeks back, Kerr initiated a petition drive demanding that the Three Rivers Marathon scrap its partnership with Chick-fil-A. “The Pittsburgh Marathon is an important community asset that brings people from all over the world to our region,” the petition reads. “And it has historically been supportive of the LGBTQ community. The Pittsburgh Marathon has the discretion to NOT partner with such businesses, especially on projects working with Pittsburgh’s youth. We must reject attempts to normalize homophobia and transphobia for our children.”
So far, over one thousand individuals have signed on to the petition.
In response, marathon officials issued a statement explaining that their intent is “to be inclusive of any and all members of the Pittsburgh community,” and “to be accepting of any individual or family who wants to participate in our events.” They added that their goal in partnering with Chick-fil-A and all other companies involved “is to further expand all of our events and programming…. This partnership with Chick-fil-A will help us ensure even more children in southwestern Pennsylvania can learn and share in our love of running.”
The LGBTQ lobby’s non-stop assault against Chick-fil-A dates back to 2012, when owner Dan Cathy, son of founder Truett Cathy, told Baptist Press News that he supported “the biblical definition of the family unit.” He went on to explain that Chick-fil-A is a “family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
The interview prompted homosexual activist groups to demand a nationwide boycott of the fast-food chain because of Cathy’s alleged support of organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.
In response, Chick-fil-A issued a statement insisting that its leadership had never contributed to organizations solely on the basis of their views on homosexuality, and that going forward, “our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
Image: flickr.com / Mark Turnauckas
