Chick-fil-A franchise owner sponsors LGBT film fest

The petition stops short of accusing Chick-fil-A's company as a whole of catching the queer, and instead assumes that this sponsorship has been arranged without corporate headquarters' knowledge.

Three years after evangelical Christians designated a day to eat more chicken in support of Chik-fil-A's defense of traditional marriage, the Southern Baptist-owned fast food chain is taking heat online for sponsoring what is billed as the world's first faith-based LGBT film festival.

"In light of these findings, we ask that Chick-fil-A issues an official response regarding this sponsorship, along with any statement your team feels is necessary to clarify Chick-fil-A's corporate stance regarding previously stated Christian values on marriage and stewardship".

Ten years after Chick-fil-A® opened its first licensee location in Washington, D.C., on the campus of Catholic University, the chain is continuing its expansion into the heart of D.C. The new restaurant in the DC USA Complex will open Wednesday, bringing 100 new jobs, the chance for 100 adults to win free Chick-fil-A meals for a year and the opportunity for community members to donate books that will benefit a local community organization.

"The operators make decisions on local sponsorships", Chick-fil-A toldEater.

Nonetheless, as Badash noted, "Conservative media outlets are sharing in the petition creator's outrage".

In an email to the website Eater sent last Friday, the company explained that it's not sponsoring any LGBTQ Christian film festivals.

LaBarbera believes the average American probably doesn't know Chick-fil-A has moved to a more neutral position on the issue, and whether the company "will allow its good name to be used to promote immoral activity". "The LGBT Mafia is making a full-court press for their case that God accepts actively, out of the closet homosexuals and homosexuality", the article reads, calling Level Ground a "Sodomite film festival". However, due to the actions of a Nashville, Tenn., franchise owner, the brand is back in the news-but this time for doing something good.

Chick-fil-a as a corporation has a history of donating funds to anti-LGBT rights groups, workplace discrimination and corporate Christian activism. Chick-fil-A is still consistently anti-gay.