'Sad day for our nation': Chick-fil-A boss causes outrage AGAIN with tweet over gay marriage ruling

Mike Gallagher

Jun 27, 2013 - 02:23

Jun 27, 2013 - 03:06

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'Sad day for our nation': Chick-fil-A boss causes outrage AGAIN with tweet over gay marriage ruling

Dan Cathy had previously been outspoken on the subject of gay marriage, causing a national outcry

The president of controversial fast food chain Chick fil-A has spoken out against yesterday's historic gay marriage ruling.

Dan Cathy has previously expressed strong views about homosexuality, saying that he believed in 'the biblical definition of the family unit'.

Mr Cathy tweeted: 'Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: coerstone of strong societies', reported The Wall Street Joual.

The controversial comment was later deleted from his account.

This comes despite the restaurant issuing a statement saying that the chain would rather 'focus on running an exceptional restaurant company' that talk about politics.

In response to the Tweet Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Carrie Kurlander said: 'Dan Cathy, like everyone in this country, has his own views. However, Chick-fil-A is focused on providing great tasting food and genuine hospitality to everyone.'

Last year Cathy caused controversy when he spoke against gay marriage and homosexuality.

He said: 'We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit.'

Reiterating his stance during an appearance on 'The Ken Coleman Show,' Mr Cathy claimed we were '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 Atlanta-based business currently has 1,608 locations and boasts sales of more than $4billion.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Chick-fil-A workers are trained ‘to focus on values rooted in the Bible,’ and the eateries nationwide are closed on Sundays.

Mr Cathy said: ‘We don’t claim to be a Christian business.

‘Companies are not lost or saved, but certainly individuals are but as an organisation we can operate on biblical principles.’

The comments sparked a national outcry a a day of protests at stores across the country.

Homosexual groups organised Same Sex Kiss Day when thousands of gay couples gathered at the restaurants.

Kiss: Thea Grabiec and Sarah Shovan kissed at Chick-fil-A in a mall in Toledo, Ohio on Friday evening, watched by incredulous diners

Kiss: Thea Grabiec and Sarah Shovan kissed at Chick-fil-A in a mall in Toledo, Ohio, watched by incredulous diners

Graffiti: Vandals at a Chick-fil-A in Torrance left a message on the restaurant on Friday during a week of protests in response to the company president's comments regarding same-sex marriage

Graffiti: Vandals at a Chick-fil-A in Torrance left a message on the restaurant during a week of protests in response to the company president's comments regarding same-sex marriage

Fox News reported at the time that a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, was evacuated after someone called in a bomb threat which was later deemed to be a hoax.

In South Carolina, a man was arrested after he blocked the drive-thru with his vehicle, and vandals at a Chick-Fil-A in Torrance, Califoia painted a message on the side of the restaurant today saying 'Tastes Like Hate' with a picture of a cow.

Another branch in Hollywood called the LAPD to control the crowd of demonstrators and media who were apparently making it impossible for employees to do their job.

The company was then forced to make a statement denying accusations of creating false Facebook accounts that supported Cathy's stance.

Backlash: Anti Chick-fil-A protestors hold signs outside a Hollywood branch after thousands of Americans tued out on Wednesday to show their appreciation for the chain

Backlash: Anti Chick-fil-A protestors hold signs outside a Hollywood branch after thousands of Americans tued out to show their appreciation for the chain

YETA (Youth Empowered to Act): A group of LGBT youth leaders between the ages of 14 and 24, protested the opening of a new Chick-fil-a franchise in Laguna Hills, Califoia

Banners: A gay couple stand outside Chick-fil-A to support their right to love each other just as much as a heterosexual couple would

In response, thousands of Americans who shared Cathy's views tued up to buy breakfast at their local store on Chick fil-A appreication day.

yesterday he Supreme Court has ruled in favor of same sex marriage by striking down the Defense of Marriage Act in a landmark 5-4 decision.

It followed that decision with a ruling against Califoia's controversial Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state, meaning that gay marriage will inevitably be deemed legal in Califoia.

By striking down DOMA, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not legal to prevent same-sex spouses from receiving the same benefits that heterosexual couples receive.

While it does not theoretically change the fact that only 12 states and the District of Columbia are the only areas in the U.S. where same-sex marriages are granted, today's ruling means that any couples who are married in those states have to be treated the same as any heterosexual married couples under the law across the country.

The broadly-written decision says among other privileges, same-sex couples can now file joint tax retus, are entitled to social security survivor benefits, have the right to make medical decisions for incapacitated partners, and will receive notification when a spouse is killed in action.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority decision, saying that it was not legal to consider same-sex marriages anything lesser than full legal partnerships.

'Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of govement decree, in visible and public ways,' Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority decision.

'DOMA's principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal.'

He wrote that the previous law caused 'a stigma upon all who enter into same-sex marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the states.'

As was expected, the court's four more conservative justices- Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and chief justice John Roberts- voted against the issue.

President Obama is currently in Africa on a state visit to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, but he tweeted shortly after the decision was reached.

'Today's DOMA ruling is a historic step forward for #MarriageEquality #LoveIsLove,' his official Twitter account released.

He was expected to make a statement about the two rulings, and his words will have an added twist as he will give them in Senegal, where homosexuality is illegal.

The second ruling of the day came on the issue of Proposition 8. In that case, Califoia had passed same-sex marriage but then Prop 8 was put in place banning gay marriage in the state. Today's Supreme Court decision said that Prop 8 was not legal, and they were not legally able to put that ban into place.

By removing the ban, Califoia is now the 13th state that allows same-sex marriage.

The landmark decision comes on a busy week for the highest court in the land, as they already handed down verdicts on similarly controversial decisions on affirmative action, the voting rights act, and a custody battle between a girl's Native American biological father and her adoptive family.

Crowds gathered outside of the court on Wednesday moing ahead of their 10am announcement.

Right now, 12 states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriages as legal, and it is likely that the issue will still continue to be determined on a state-by-state basis.

The case itself was based around the constitutionality of denying spousal benefits to same sex partners.They are also considering the validity of the Califoia ban on same-sex marriage.

Named the United States v. Windsor, the case was filed by an elderly lesbian named Edith Windsor. She was married to her female spouse Thea Spyer but was denied estate tax when Ms Spyer died.

Their 40-year love story has been a well-publicized one and a movie was made to nationalize.

In light of today's landmark ruling, Windsor no longer has to pay the IRS hundreds of dollars that she was told to pay because the federal govement did not recognize her same-sex marriage as valid.