Tax records show Chick-fil-A donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in 2017, an anti-Christian group that lists any organization disavowing same-sex marriage as a “hate-group,” including churches, according to Townhall.com.
According to the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s 2017 IRS 990 form, the fast-food corporation gave $2,500 to the SPLC. It was the SPLC that motivated a terrorist shooter in 2012 to launch an assault on the Family Research Council with a semi-automatic pistol, 100 rounds of ammo, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
“Southern Poverty Law [Center] lists anti-gay groups. I found them online,” said the shooter in an interrogation video made public by the FBI, adding that his plan was to “kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-fil-A sandwiches in victims’ faces, and kill the guard.”
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council condemned the donations to SPLC and called for a Christian boycott of Chick-fil-A.
“Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America. Anyone who opposes the SPLC…is slandered and slapped with the ‘extremist’ label or even worse, their ‘hate group’ designation,” Perkins said. “It’s time for Christians to find a fast food alternative to Chick-fil-A.”
For years, the fast food chain famous for its chicken sandwich has been a lynchpin in the culture wars following revelations that the company’s CEO, Dan Cathy, held a strong belief in opposition to same-sex marriage and that the company has been donating to causes deemed “anti-gay” such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army.
While progressives urged a boycott of the restaurant following the revelations, conservatives embraced the chain, often catering events with Chick-fil-A. Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host, Mike Huckabee, even launched a counter-boycott as “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”
Earlier this month however, Chick-fil-A changed course, announcing that it would change the direction of its philanthropy to “a more focused giving approach,” no longer donating to causes deemed “anti-gay.” The chain’s foundation said it would set aside $9 million in 2020 to promote youth education, combat youth homelessness, and fight hunger.
