The Democratic Convention has gender neutral bathrooms, a ton of LGBTQ supporters — and sandwiches made by a notoriously homophobic chicken chain.
Chick-fil-A sandwiches are for sale inside the Wells Fargo Center, site of the convention. The popular chicken sandwich chain has made news over the years for CEO Dan Cathy’s anti-gay remarks.
Cathy famously said that he was “guilty as charged” in his religion-based opposition to gay marriage back in 2012, which resulted in numerous Chick-fil-A boycotts from a variety of groups and organizations.
He eventually backtracked, but admitted that his views had not changed.
“Every leader goes through different phases of maturity, growth and development and it helps by (recognizing) the mistakes that you make,” Cathy told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2014. “And you learn from those mistakes. If not, you’re just a fool. I’m thankful that I lived through it and I learned a lot from it.”
So is the Democratic tent big enough for LGBTQ people and a chicken chain with a CEO who doesn’t back same-sex marriage? It’s unclear. It’s entirely possible that the Wells Fargo Center’s food vendor Aramark has a deal with Chick-fil-A that has nothing to do with the convention. The DNC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The sandwiches aren’t sold at a standalone Chick-fil-A, but rather from another restaurant that features Chick-fil-A. We didn’t hear any complaints — except from one delegate who griped that the stand didn’t have the chain’s signature dipping sauce.