Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy was preaching to the choir.
On July 16 he gave an interview to K. Allan Blume, the “Biblical Recorder” who writes for the Baptist Press:News with a Christian Perspectivewherein he covered a wide range of topics about his company which is managed, he says, on “biblical principles.”
This was my favorite line from the BPN article:
Based on Matthew 5:41, Cathy is on a mission to provide customers with “second-mile” service — exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant.
I liked that line because it rang true based upon my one experience at a Chick-fil-A restaurant. I was so impressed with the Cherry Hill area Chick-fil-A that when arrived home the evening after I had lunch there a couple of months ago that I told my wife about it as one of the highlights of my day. I never tell my wife about the fast food joint I eat at when I’m on the road.
I’d never heard of Chick-fil-A. I keep calling it Chickafil. My friend and I just happened upon the place during the lunch break of a meeting. “What is it, a Philadelphia area Boston Market?” I asked my friend who seemed familiar with the brand.
I was impressed with the place before my friend and I got in the door. There was a woman sweeping the parking lot that gave us a warm and friendly greeting while we were walking in. That struck me as an odd use of human resources during the lunch rush. And how does management get their employees to be so happy when they’re sweeping the parking lot? I had a vision of an employee of mine rolling her eyes when I asked her to do something she considered beneath her. This place must be up to something good I thought to myself. My only other memory of fast food employees outside of a restaurant was of those taking a smoking break.
Everybody in the place seemed happy. There were cartoons of cows celebrating decorating the place. No pictures of Jesus or the stations of the cross. The black woman who took our order (the woman cleaning the parking lot was white) was friendly and patient as we perused the menu for the type of chicken we were going to have for lunch. She didn’t look at me funny when I insisted on paying for my male friend’s lunch. She said thank you, not God bless you, when I paid and she apologised for the brief wait when delivering our sandwiches which she had offered to deliver to our table.
Half way through lunch, the parking lot lady showed up at our table offering free refills of our drinks. She would refill them for us.
I felt really welcomed and appreciated at that Chick-fil-A. Serving me and my friend seemed to be more important to the employees than completing the tasks of service. And it didn’t feel like a technique. It felt genuine. No one said, “Have a nice day.”
Based on Matthew 5:41, Cathy is on a mission to provide customers with “second-mile” service — exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant.
It worked for me that day in Cherry Hill.
But that is not why Chick-fil-A was in the news this week. Towards the end of his preaching to the choir interview with BPN Cathy said,
Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. “Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy when asked about the company’s position.
“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
“We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized.
“We intend to stay the course,” he said. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
Cathy had no idea of the shit storm that was about to hit him and his company.
The religious exemptions clause of New York’s same sex marriage law was supposed to be the great compromise that broke down the barriers to gay couples marrying. Without the protections the clause provided to institutions that objected to same sex marriage on religious grounds, the law would not have passed New York’s legislature or been signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo last year.
New Jersey’s Gay Rights community, which has a history of litigating against religious institutions that refused to allow their properties to be used for civil union ceremonies, embraced the religious exemptions clause and convinced the Democratic leadership of the New Jersey legislature to make same sex marriage the number one priority of the current legislative session. New Jersey’s legislature passed the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act in February. Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill and called for the issue to be decided by Constitutional Amendment via referendum. Despite polls indicating that New Jersey voters favor same sex marriage and that the favor Christie’s proposal to decide the issue via referendum, Garden State Equality and their allies in the legislature opposed a referendum, declaring that same sex marriage is a civil right that should not be decided by the majority at the ballot box. Privately, same sex marriage advocates have acknowledged that they expect to lose a referendum, despite the polls that indicate they would win.
New York is leading the way again.
The New York Post reports that a lesbian couple from Westchester is seeking to overturn the religious exemptions provision of New York’s same sex marriage law in federal court. “Jane Roe” and “Jane Doe,” a couple married on October 15, 2011, filed a class action suit in Manhattan because “Roe’s” employer, St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, refused to add “Doe” to the Catholic hospital’s medical benefits.
The class-action suit seeks an order declaring that both women are entitled to insurance coverage under federal law. It also says “thousands of legally married, same-sex couples” have been, or will be, denied benefits under similar policies administered by Empire, which is also named as a defendant.
The women are seeking an injunction ordering Blue Cross Blue Shield not to acquiesce to a company that wants to deny same-sex benefits because of religious beliefs, said Jeffrey Norton, their lawyer.
Could Gay Marriage Be An Issue In The U.S. Senate Race?
In an email to his membership this afternoon, Garden State Equality President Steven Goldstein claimed that the New Jersey State Legislature is close to overriding Governor Chris Christie’s veto of the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act:
This has already been the most productive year in our organization’s history. We passed marriage equality through both houses of the legislature, and quickly followed that up with the passage and signing into law of a new school bullying bill. In recent weeks, we’ve been laying the groundwork to achieve marriage equality through an override of Governor Christie’s veto. Since the legislature voted to pass marriage equality in February, we’ve won over another couple of legislators to our side. If you signed up to form an Override Club of your friends and neighbors in your legislative district to help us strategize and organize for marriage equality locally, we’ll be calling you soon.
Friends, we are closer to seeing marriage equality become law in New Jersey than we ever thought would be possible under a Governor opposed to marriage equality. I swear to God, if someone would have told me a couple of years ago – when we all assumed we’d have to wait until another Governor to win – that we could be this unbelievably close this soon, frankly I’d have told them they were crazy. Our momentum is stunning. Our dream is in our grasp. And we have you to thank. You never stopped believing. Together, we have never let up.
“It’s not happening,” said a GSE sympathiser who asked not to be identified, “Steve must be trying to gin up his troops or raise money. An override is less likely now than it was in February.”
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed a gay marriage bill this afternoon which, if it takes effect as scheduled next January, will make the Old Line State the eighth to grant homosexuals the right to marry.
The bill passed the Maryland Senate last week, 25-22 and the state House 72-67, according to Politico.
Opponents of the measure are expected to gather the 56,000 signatures required to have a referendum in November.
A Quinnipiac University Poll released this morning indicates that New Jersey voters support same sex marriage by a 57%-37% margin. By 67%-28% respondents said they support Governor Christie’s proposal the issue be decided via referendum.
Voters are split, 48%-47%, over whether Christie did the right thing vetoing same sex marriage bill approved by the legislature earlier this year.
“The numbers are all over the lot,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, “Voter support for same-sex marriage goes up every time we ask, but about half of them think Christie was right to veto it. By better than 2-1, they like the governor’s proposal for a referendum.”
The numbers seem to be all over the lot on education reform as well.
By 50%-43% voters approve of the way Christie is handling education. 60% think limiting teacher tenure is a good idea and 72% think merit pay for good teachers is a good idea. Yet voters oppose school vouchers by 50%-44% and oppose expanding charter schools by 52%-41%.
New Jersey voters have a positive view of public school teachers, 57%-25% but an unfavorable view of the teachers union, NJEA, by a 46%-31%. Only 42% of union households have a favorable view of the NJEA.
Governor Chris Christie tangled with Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart over gay marriage, and Christie’s offer to but the issue up for referendum, during the Morning Joe Show yesterday morning on MSNBC.
Reiterates his call for the issue to be decided by the people via referendum
Calls for the establishment of an Ombudsman to enforce the Civil Union Law
Governor Chris Christie sent S-1, the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act, back to the legislature this afternoon with his conditional veto.
Christie issued the following statement regarding his action:
“Today, I am adhering to what I’ve said since this bill was first introduced – an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide. I continue to encourage the Legislature to trust the people of New Jersey and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents a profoundly significant societal change. This is the only path to amend our State Constitution and the best way to resolve the issue of same-sex marriage in our state.
“I have been just as adamant that same-sex couples in a civil union deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples – as well as the strict enforcement of those rights and benefits. Discrimination should not be tolerated and any complaint alleging a violation of a citizen’s right should be investigated and, if appropriate, remedied. To that end, I include in my conditional veto the creation of a strong Ombudsman for Civil Unions to carry on New Jersey’s strong tradition of tolerance and fairness. The Ombudsman will be charged with increasing awareness of the law regarding civil unions, will provide a clear point of contact for those who have questions or concerns and will be required to report any evidence of the law being violated. In this way, we can ensure equal treatment under the law.”
THIS SUNDAY, February 19th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Garden State Equality will hold a free wine-and-cheese open house in centrally located Red Bank for all our members, including you, to show you our love and appreciation. No RSVP necessary, and please bring whomever you’d like.
Location: Hip and Humble Home, 58 Broad Street, Red Bank.
On Sunday, this incredibly cool home furnishings store will donate 25 percent of your purchases to Garden State Equality’s campaign to override Governor Christie’s veto of the marriage equality bill.
212 LGBT civil rights laws at the state, county and local levels in New Jersey our founding in 2004 — and now we’re one of only three states in American history to pass a marriage equality bill under a Governor hostile to marriage equality. Those are your achievements, dear members. We thank you with all our hearts, and we hope to see you Sunday.
NJ Supreme Court is end game for Same Sex Marriage Advocates
As expected, the New Jersey Assembly passed the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act today. The vote was 42-33. No Republican voted for the bill. Two Cape May County Democrats, Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam voted NO, according to NJ.com
The bill passed the Senate last week and now heads to Governor Chris Christie for his expected veto.
Christie has called for the issue to be put to referendum this fall. Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman has proposed legislation authorizing the referendum.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney has said the referendum legislation will not make it to the Senate floor for a vote.
Christie has said the Democrats handling of the matter is political theater. He told Poltickernj,
“If they don’t put it on the ballot, you’ll know the whole thing was political theater,” Christie said. “I trust the people.”
However, same sex marrige advocates seem to think that legislative passage of the bill will make a difference in their efforts to get the New Jersey Supreme Court to impose same sex marriage in New Jersey regardless of Christie’s veto or whether or not there is a referendum.
In an email to his membership, Steven Goldstein, CEO of Garden State Equality, said,
… Meanwhile, Garden State Equality continues its lawsuit with Lambda Legal –
where courts will now see the legislative intent of marriage equality…
… “Pursuing all roads to justice, Garden State Equality and seven-same sex couples will continue our lawsuit for marriage equality, where we are represented by Lambda Legal and the nationally renowned Gibbons law firm. With this victory, the courts will see the legislature’s clear intent to replace the state’s failed civil union law with marriage equality.”
The New Jersey Senate passed S-1, “The Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act,” on a 24-16 vote, according to Poltickernj.
Republican Senators Jennifer Beck and Diane Allen crossed the aisle to vote “YES” on the bill that the Democratic legislative leadership declared was their top priority of the year. Democratic Senators Jeff Van Drew and Ronald Rice voted “NO” with the Republican caucus.
The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the bill on Thursday.
Monmouth County Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon will be absent for the vote on Thursday as he will be traveling to attend Beck’s wedding. Beck is getting married, to a man, Highlands restaurateur Danny Shields, on Sunday February 18th. O’Scanlon told MMM that he is not ducking the issue, though he has not yet decided how he will vote should the bill come before the legislature for a veto override.
Governor Christie has said he will veto the bill and that he wants the issue put to referendum in November.
