No Protest Planned for Bolingbrook Chick-fil-A Opening
Some may still protest Thursday's opening of the new restaurant, following comments by the chain's president against same-sex marriage in July.
No official protests have been announced for Thursday's opening of Chick-fil-A in Bolingbrook.
The Bolingbrook restaurant will open in a new building at 245 N. Weber Rd., in front of the Meijer at the intersection of Weber and Boughton Road Wednesday.
More than 100 people camped outside Chick-fil-A for free food for a year. Hear their stories here.
Lea Anne Stoughton, president of the great Joliet area chapter of PFLAG, had said in August she was in the process of talking with other members of her chapter and "gauging the willingness" to organize a Bolingbrook protest. PFLAG stands for Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
"The goal is to say, 'Here are some things you may want to know before you eat at Chick-fil-A,'" Stoughton said. "Even though it's in the news, there are a lot of people who never really think about it.
"(Cathy) is welcome to believe whatever he believes. As consumers, we have the right to patronize an establishment based on the beliefs of its owners."
But the group decided not to organize a protest, as doing so would open themselves up for negative reactions they would rather avoid, Stoughton wrote in an e-mail.
"They already face hate and judgment without inviting it," she wrote.
That doesn't mean there won't be some protesters at the restaurant's opening.
An Oswego High School graduate organized a protest for the recent opening of Chick-fil-A in Oswego on Aug. 24. The outrage over comments of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy against same-sex marriage were widely publicized in July.
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy said his business was "guilty as charged" in support of the "biblical definition of the family unit," according to the AP.
In response, a Chicago alderman said he would use aldermanic privilege to block a proposed Chick-fil-A from opening in his ward, according to ABC.
The Jim Henson company severed ties with Chick-fil-A, and Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino sent a letter to Cathy saying, "There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it," ABC reported.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel wrote in a statement to the Chicago Tribune, "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values..They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty."
Cathy's remarks sparked passionate support, as well as outrage.
In support of Cathy's stance, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee organized "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, which brought thousands of patrons to local Chick-fil-A chains in support.
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Village of Bolingbrook
375 W Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, IL -
Meijer
755 E Boughton Rd, Bolingbrook, IL -
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Pro Life Crusader +
9:33 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012
How stupid can people be to say Chic-Fil-A is discriminatory!!! It's their religious belief. Don't like it, don't eat there. I don't want to hear from these groups that don't like the beliefs.
Nicole
11:18 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012
http://nomorefowlplay.org/the-problem/ Chickens tend to be immobilized, shackled upside down, placed in scalding tanks of electrified water, and then thrown onto the dreaded slaughter line, all while alive and conscious. The hormones given to poultry have been shown to disrupt one’s hormonal balance, which can negatively impact a woman’s mood, fertility, cause reproductive system problems and early puberty in girls. Hormones also have been shown to increase risk of prostate and breast cancer. Chickens bred with little exercise and growth hormones also have more fat, which makes the consumer have more fat as well. Dirty Slaughterhouse Conditions lead to outbreaks
Pro Life Crusader +
12:06 pm on Thursday, September 6, 2012
Nicole what do you eat???
Nicole
9:16 am on Friday, September 7, 2012
Seaweed, Nuts, Beans, Salads, Rice... Tofu
Brandt Hardin
3:50 pm on Thursday, September 6, 2012
If companies are people and people vote with dollars then the destination of the restaurant’s donations are open for public debate. It very well should be an issue as to where peoples’ hard-earned money goes after the chicken goes down their gullet. This issue has made our little feathered friend the modern martyr as Chick-fil-A laughs all the way to the bank. Watch the poultry be nailed to the cross and pierced by the spear of destiny at the hands of those devious cows on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/08/holy-rollin-poultry-on-cross-chick-fil.html