By Star Parker July 30, 2012 6:55 am
The current hate campaign being waged by homosexual activists
against fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, because of the firm’s Christian
values, may well turn out to be a bridge too far. The effort may prove
to be a setback for homosexual activism.
The vile attacks on the firm and its owners, the Cathy family, should
make clear, finally, that the “gay rights” movement is not about refining
and advancing American freedom. It is about rewriting American values
and advancing not freedom, but the homosexual political agenda.
Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at a flag raising
ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt, noting the reopening of the American
consulate there. Given the current political climate in Egypt, the
secretary of state felt behooved in her remarks to highlight principles
of freedom as understood by Americans.
“… to us, real democracy means that every citizen has the right to live,
work and worship as they choose, whether they are man or woman,
Muslim or Christian, or from any other background.”
Perhaps, Secretary Clinton should be lecturing Americans instead of
Egyptians.
Can it really be that in America today a businessman can be labeled a
bigot, boycotted and cut off by suppliers because of the crime of being
a Christian?
When Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy made his now famous incendiary
admission that “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical
definition of the family unit,” he was not pontificating. He was
responding to a question in an interview done in a paper I expect not
read by many homosexuals — the Baptist Press.
Nevermind. It was sufficient provocation that Cathy publicly admitted
the Bible defines his understanding of marriage — the unique bond of
man and woman — which also happens to be the standard definition in
dictionaries on the shelves of every American home and library.
“Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values,” said Chicago Mayor, and
former chief of staff to President Obama, Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel
defended Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno’s threat to deny Chick-fil-A
permitting in Chicago because its owner supports traditional marriage
and family.
But UCLA law professor and constitutional scholar Eugene Volokh
points out in his blog that “denying a private business permits because
of such speech by its owner is a blatant First Amendment violation.”
The Constitution? The First Amendment? Religious liberty? Do these
apply to Christians?
Volokh goes on to point out that a permit might be denied “… if [Chick-
fil-A] actually discriminated in their serving or hiring decisions in
Chicago in a way forbidden by Chicago or Illinois law. … But the stories
give no evidence of any such actions …”
The fact that there is no evidence that Chick-fil-A discriminates in its
business practices did not deter Washington Post columnist Dana
Milbank from writing that Dan Cathy’s support of traditional marriage ”
… implied that gay people (not to mention divorced people) had no
business eating at Chick-fil-A.”
One court decision after another over the last 50 years has, step by
step, purged any hint of religion and traditional values from our schools
and public spaces. Has it made this a fairer, better, freer nation? If you
think breakdown of family, 40 percent out-of-wedlock births, a million
abortions a year, $16 trillion in national debt and government
dependence is better and freer, yes.
Of course, society must embrace civility, respect and tolerance. But
this doesn’t mean that the sexual proclivities of some should provide
license to rewrite our language and the traditions that define our faith
and virtue.
Hopefully, many will respond to Mike Huckabee’s appeal to patronize
Chick-fil-A on Aug. 1 as a display of support for traditional Christian
values and as a reminder that our Constitution protects religious
freedom.
Have we really gotten to the point where being a Christian is considered
un-American?