Chick-fil-A restaurants face day of "Kiss In" after conservatives deliver record sales
(CBS/AP) ATLANTA - Gay rights activists and other supporters of marriage equality plan a national "Kiss In" at Chick-fil-A restaurants Friday to protest the fast-food chain owners' opposition to same-sex unions, two days after gay marriage foes delivered the chain a one-day sales record.
Hundreds of thousands of customers, many of them conservative Christians, attended "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" at more than 1,600 locations on Wednesday, following a call from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and Fox News talk-show host.
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Chick-fil-A vice president Steve Robinson said the company won't release sales figures for Wednesday. Customers lined up outside restaurants and the Rev. Billy Graham, the 93-year-old evangelist, dined on a Chick-fil-A lunch on the record-setting day.
"We are very grateful and humbled by the incredible turnout of loyal Chick-fil-A customers on August 1 at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country," Robinson in the statement.
Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy stirred the controversy by confirming his opposition to same-sex marriage.
The Southern Baptist Cathy family has long been known for publicly expressing its faith, telling the Baptist Press last month that the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family," and never opening their businesses on Sundays.
Participants in the "Kiss In" are encouraged to come to the fast-food chains and kiss a fellow demonstrator of the same sex. One organizer, Carly McGehee of Dallas, said she hopes the event "helps LGBT youth who feel isolated and are victims of bullying."