I can attest to the wonderful contributions the Crays have made to students and the school communities in Decatur. They seem to have put their hearts and souls into making the store a safe, fun, responsible, civically-minded neighborhood business. It is unfortunate that their business may be affected by comments made by the CFA, Inc. President, not them.

I have never had an issue with our local franchisee. Great people, great corporate citizens. It isn't Mr. Cathy's statement that keeps me out of their store. I stopped going there a while back when I understood that Chick-Fil-A's WinShape Foundation gives substantial financial support to organizations that have an anti-gay agenda.

It is unfortunate for the Crays. I, too, have had great experiences there. But the bottom line is that each franchise has to give a certain percentage back to the corporation. And that money (my money) is going towards organizations that are trying to ban gay adoption, marriage and gay rights. I won't be a part of that.

I really appreciate what the Crays are doing for our community and their letter stating their own inclusiveness. My concern though is that any of my money will go to support anti-gay causes through the corporation. Unfortunately, until changes happen there, I cannot in good conscience spend money at Chick-Fil-A. I wish i could designate my dollars only be used for the local store. It is very sad to me.

KMT hits the nail on the head. I think anyone will be hard-pressed to find a Chik-fil-A that DOESN'T have superb Southern hospitality that doesn't discriminate, but ultimately, my money (even if a mere buck and some change for coffee) funnels into the channels of the great corporate river. I cannot in good conscience give my money to Chik-fil-A anymore and it pains me because of all the wonderful works CFA does on a local basis. I used to work with a Special Olympics team that received donated meals from the local CFA. CFA employs many young people and offers much-needed scholarship money. Maybe what we all need to do is stuff $5 in a jar every time we get the craving for a sandwich or nuggets or a milkshake and donate it to worthy local causes.

What "anti-gay" causes is Dan Cathy funding with your Chik-fil-A dollars? I don't really think he's actively pursuing an agenda to thwart gays, he just doesn't believe it is right. And that is one man, not the entire corporation and all the helpless franchisees, whom you are actively hurting with your silly boycotts. Conservatives boycotted Oreos for their support of Pride, and you all laughed at them and called them fools. Now you are them. It's silly. If there is actual money from the profits of a business that is legitimately being used to thwart the legalization of gay marriage, then yes absolutely do not support that business. I don't see how a bigoted comment is the same as lobbying marriage legislation. I think you guys are just jumping to a conclusion without doing any homework on the subject here.

The more I hear and think about this, it is baffling to me how the President of such a large, successful, well-known, and well-respected organization can say what he said. Is there no person in the organization who advised him not to do these interviews? Did he get that advice and ignore it? Does having biblical convictions mean that one must "truth speak" even if it means creating problems for others? It sounds like the behavior of someone that is either unaware or insensitive.

And Mr. Crays, please understand that there is, like it or not, no such thing as Mr. Cathy having a personal view on this matter. To everyone outside of his family, he is the President of Chick and therefore a representative of it. And the funds provided to Focus on the Family and other organizations through WinShape corroborate his comments. I am sad that this whirlwind has sucked you in, but I think you know who to thank for that.

Do local Chick-fil-A owners have to suffer because of Dan Cathy's views?

Well, since I eat CFA virtually for free (thank you coupons!), I can honestly say my money isn't really going towards these causes. It is rare today to find a corporation that truly gives SO much back to the community -- when was the last time you heard of a school hosting a "McDonald's night", huh??

I just want my waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!

I am certain that the Crays and most employees of cfa would never dream of denying rigts to me and my family, but the fact remains: every oenny you give to cfa helps to fund hate filled political agendas. I suggest the Crays and all cfa owner operators sue Mr. Cathy for irreparably damaging their business.

I suggest patronizing the local Decatur Chick-fil-A, and putting aside a dollar donation towards the Human Rights Campaign, or a similar organization, each time you do.

Boycott's or the threat of boycotting a business works sometimes. Jesse Jackson has done quite well with this kind of tactic.....as a matter of fact, he lives quite lavishly because of it......

As you probably know various members of the homosexual community are calling for a boycott of Chic filet because Chic filet's President expressed his Christian belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. He quickly added that he welcomes homosexuals into his restaurant and that they are always treated with dignity and respect .....and good waffle fries.

Governor Mike Huckabee is asking people to go to a Chic filet on Wednesday August the 1st and buy food from Chic filet in answer to the homosexual's boycott. I think we should all go Wednesday August the 1st and take a friend with us and order as much food as you can reasonably afford.

I approve of this message and I approve of Mike Huckabee; however, I don't approve of Jesse Jackson's Tactics. These are my "Personal Opinions" which I have a Constitutional Right to Express, the same Right that "Dan Cathy" has and everyone of you have.

Isn't this what the free market is all about? Perhaps the Crays should have done more due diligence on the type of organization they were becoming entwined with. I stopped patronizing Chick-fil-A several years ago when a very hard working young lady came to work for me after leaving the company. She felt discriminated against after she became an unwed mother. The hiring and advancement policies she described sounded highly discriminatory.

This sounds suspiciously like the official statement from Chick-Fil-A: "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect—regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender." In other words, Chick-Fil-A will take your money with one hand and then slip it to organizations working to deny you basic civil rights with the other.

Had the Crays said that they are "dedicated to serving our guests with honor, dignity and respect," AND we also believe in the rights of all people to be treated equally under the law, I would go there for lunch today in appreciation of their courageous stance, and I would encourage everyone else to do the same. Of course, that is not what the letter says. They argue that Dan Cathy "has made it clear [that] those were his personal views, and that his intent was not to speak on behalf of every Chick-fil-A owner," but they never renounce his beliefs.

I'm sorry, but it seems the Crays simply are towing the company line.

@Scott Tewell
10:17 am on Friday, July 27, 2012
Yes, bulldogger. And you also have the right to overuse or misuse The Capitalization Of Commonly Used Words, "quotation marks," and......ellipses

WOW, Scott, is that the only thing you can find to criticize this old 8th grade graduate for? I know I probably ended that sentence "wrong", but that's my "right"

It's corporate boilerplate.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=471844662835248&set=a.178247672194950.41344.173395302680187&type=1&theater

I am happy for you as a business owner that you have decided to do this. There will be repercussions. But you have addressed your communities needs, you continue to support this community and you have the courage to believe in your own beliefs. Kudos to you. CFA is a great organization. I don't think that Dan Cathy's comments should reflect every owner/operators sentiments. I think you have courage. Congrats!

But it's a great opportunity for Dan Cathy to retire...

The issue for me isn't Dan Cathy's right to his personal views, it's whether or not I'm supporting his causes when I buy CFA food. I wish the Decatur owners would let us know how their profits are divided up, and if they have to contribute to the corporation at large beyond the initial franchise purchase.

Protesting an organization or policy/law is any Americans right. However one word of warning from history. When you start to hinder or stop business from being done at an establishment that does not believe the same as you. That has been done before in our not to distant history. The Nazis were very effective at discouraging/stopping its citizens from shopping from Jewish owned shops. Expressing ones beliefs is fine. Trying to negatively effect someone's lively hood because they don't see things the same as you is wrong, and as history shows us, a dangerous and slippery slope we should all try to avoid.

I was disappointed to find this was a form letter sent out and customized by all the Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide.http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114413/-Chick-Fil-A-s-latest-failed-effort-to-spin-backlash-from-funding-hate-groups

Just another reason I'm glad I only visit beautiful, fun and funky Decatur! Get a life, people! If we all decided to base our purchases on the political orientation of the provider, we probably couldn't buy or eat anything! I respect everyone's right to have and state their opinion, but can't we do this without all the divisiveness? We're trying to get the economy back on track, and this type of discussion is more negative than positive - I'm tired of it and I suspect many others are too! Peace, y'all!!!!!