MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - A culture war turned into a food fight and Chick-fil-A is in the thick of it.
The fast food chain is catching flak for its owner's stance against gay marriage.
Gays and lesbians are boycotting the business, but others are jamming the restaurants, and the roads around them, with support.
In a day and age where everything is politicized, food is no longer neutral in the culture wars. Even restaurants double as battlegrounds.
Undaunted by long lines, customers ordered lunch by the caseloads
“Well this is, part of it is already in the car. I had to make more than one trip,” one customer said.
They were eager to standup for a company that's not caving on its convictions.
“I love Chick-fil-A and I believe in everything they stand for,” Belinda Tinsley said.
“We patronize Chick-fil-A today to support the rights of Dan Cathy to express his religious beliefs about marriage,” said Dr. LaSimba Gray, pastor of New Sardis Baptist Church.
“We don't need to be closing own businesses, we need to be supporting businesses,” said Republican U.S. Senate District 9 Primary candidate Dr. George Flinn.
Patrons filled restaurants, packed malls and tied up traffic to deliver a message.
Not everyone in line at Chick Fil-A was in line with it's owner's statements.
“I ain't ordering nothing, he's ordering. It ain't me,” Mark Autree said. “They can say what they want to say and act how they want to act but whenever they don't get your money they see it in their next quarter.”
Local gay rights activist Will Batts also weighed in saying, “Chick-fil-A absolutely has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want regardless of how offensive that might be to some. Equally, people who believe that Chick-fil-A's support of anti-gay organizations is wrong are also free to say that Chick-fil-A supports bigotry and intolerance.”
Don't expect the controversy to die down anytime soon. On Friday gay couples will flock to Chick-fil-A's across the nation to participate in what one gay rights group is calling "National Same Sex Kiss Day."
