Hello Chick Fil A!
As a long time fan of your fine chicken biscuits and customer service and a committed supporter of equal marriage rights for all, the opening of the Northridge, CA Chick-Fil-A has left me with a bit of an ethical dilemma. While I fully support your rights as a company to maintain your own values and find many of the values your company stands for admirable, your company's contributions to discriminatory groups are hard for me to support. In fact, your opposition to marriage infringes on my own religious beliefs- my church's minister was only briefly able to marry several members of our congregation (members who, I might add, have had longer committed relationships than many heterosexual couples I know- they could perhaps teach a thing or two about commitment to us all) while gay marriage was legal in California. It's very hard for me to enjoy a chicken sandwich, even one that is served in such a sparkling clean restaurant by friendly employees, knowing that the money I spent on that chicken is being used to fight basic civil rights.
So I've come up with a compromise that salves my conscience somewhat. For every Chick-Fil-A visit my family makes, I will contribute an amount equal to what I spent at Chick-Fil-A to Equality California in your name. This morning we enjoyed two chicken biscuits, two regular biscuits, two coffees, a juice and a bottle of water. We had two free breakfast item coupons so our total came to just under $10, however, I included the cost of the free items and rounded up so I just donated $15 to Equality California. I figure you don't donate every dollar that comes in (what kind of business model would that be?) so for this transaction, at least, justice comes out ahead.
I wish your company the best but I do hope you consider looking for charitable groups that don't discriminate for your philanthropic endeavors. There are many worthwhile causes we can all agree on and much we have in common.
Best,
Hannah Spector
