A petition drive is afoot that seeks to boot from the UL Lafayette campus Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chain owned by fundamentalist Christians whose charitable foundation donates heavily to rightwing, anti-gay/lesbian groups.
[Update: Perhaps coincidentally, the local franchisee for Chick-Fil-A sent an email to members of local media less than 30 minutes after we posted this story inviting us to dine for free at any of the three locations in Lafayette.]
A petition drive is afoot that seeks to boot from the UL Lafayette campus Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chain owned by fundamentalist Christians - Chick-Fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays - whose foundation, WinShape, donates heavily to rightwing, anti-gay/lesbian groups like Focus on the Family and Exodus International, a "pray away the gay" group.
According to the petition posted at SignOn.org:
I support the cause of removing Chick-fil-A from UL Lafayette due to their anti-LGBT and anti-Civil Rights record.
Chick-fil-A currently serves thousands of students a year at UL Lafayette. However, the company has consistently funded groups that fight against LGBT Equality. Chick-fil-A has donated over $5 million dollars to anti-gay organizations between 2003 - 2010.
As a campus that supports diversity and inclusion, UL Lafayette, its faculty, staff, and students should not be funding a company that supports anti-equality measures. Removing this restaurant from campus will send a strong message that UL Lafayette stands up for the rights of all their students, faculty, and staff. The move to push Chick-Fil-A off the Lafayette campus is not a new phenomenon. LGBT student groups and their supporters have waged similar campaigns at college campuses across the country. Earlier this year following a 31-5 vote against Chick-Fil-A by its Student Senate, Northeastern University in Boston scrapped plans to allow a franchise on its campus.
To see the petition, click here.