Same sex kiss protest at Chick-fil-A in Toledo - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Same sex kiss protest at Chick-fil-A in Toledo

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Kisses at Chick-fil-A to protest gay marriage view

 

Gay marriage supporters, from left, Emmie Hesley, Cathy Dear and Amy Paffenroth hold signs in front of a Chick-fil-A in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Nick Tomecek)

ATLANTA (AP) - Gay rights activists were kissing at Chick-fil-A stores across the country Friday, just days after the company set a sales record when customers flocked to the restaurants to show support for the fast-food chain president's opposition to gay marriage.

Toledo's Westfield Franklin Park mall also saw about a dozen gay rights supporters come out.  Starting at 5pm, the plan was to have a kiss every hour on the hour.  They message was that they are a part of the community and deserve their freedom of speech as well. 

Meanwhile, police were investigating graffiti at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Southern California. The graffiti on the side of a restaurant in Torrance said "Tastes like hate" and had a picture of a cow. No one has been arrested.

The flap began last month when Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told a religious publication that the company backed "the biblical definition of a family" and later said: "''I think we are 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 statement infuriated gay marriage supporters, who planned the so-called kiss-in protests. To counter that demonstration, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and Fox News talk show host, declared Wednesday a Chick-fil-A appreciation day.

The Cathy family has never hid its Southern Baptist faith, even closing its restaurants on Sundays.

Julie Romano, an organizer at the Decatur, Ga., store just outside Atlanta said she thinks Cathy "is operating with cafeteria-style religion and a lot of people, extremist like him are, they pick and choose what it is they want to believe."

"As my sign said, Jesus said nothing about homosexuality. And Christianity is about loving people."

Chick-fl-A released a statement today saying, "At Chick-fil-A, we appreciate all of our customers and are glad to serve them at any time. Our goal is simple: to provide great food, genuine hospitality and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A."

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