Chick-fil-A Controversy Exposes Media's Anti-Christian Bias and Free Speech Double Standard
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Through the coalition of Citizens Against Religious Bigotry (CARB), more than 20 conservative leaders have joined Media Research Center (MRC) President Brent Bozell in raising their voices in support of religious freedom and our Constitutionally protected right to free speech. The controversy over Chick-fil-A exposed the rampant anti-Christian bias and First Amendment double standard characteristic of liberal media.
What began with Chick-fil-A President and COO Dan Cathy’s unremarkable comments affirming his family’s belief in the traditional definition of marriage swiftly and loudly escalated into a contrived culture war fueled by the liberal media:
1. On Wednesday, August 1, the night of
Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, CBS Evening
News ignored the story entirely while NBC
Nightly News aired five different clips of anti-Chick-fil-A protesters to
offset the hundreds of thousands who showed up in support of traditional
marriage and freedom of speech.
2. On Thursday morning, the networks continued
their smear campaign against Cathy as an anti-gay bigot and Chick-fil-A’s
Christian principals as hate speech. CBS
This Morning’s anchor Charlie Rose vilified patrons as anti-gay, stating
that “thousands went there to eat and to make a statement - a statement against
same sex marriage.” On Friday morning, Good
Morning
3. The media underplayed gross
government overreach by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Boston Mayor Tom Menino
when they pledged to ban Chick-fil-A from doing business in their cities. If a
conservative mayor had tried blocking a pro-gay marriage business from opening
through the threat of government reprisal, the media would be calling for his
resignation.
4. When the media-hyped “Kiss-in”
counter protest planned for Friday fizzled, the media omitted any substantial
coverage of its embarrassing failure. If a large-scale Tea Party rally had been
such a flop, the liberal media wouldn’t be able to talk about it enough.
“It’s a double
standard as old as the liberal media itself,” stated
STATEMENTS
1) The liberal media, who constantly
remind us of THEIR rights to freedom of speech and expression, have shown with
stark and blatant hypocrisy their belief that these same rights don't apply for
those with whom they disagree politically.
Their attack and encouraged hostility toward a private citizen for
expressing his deeply held religious beliefs is disgusting and un-American.
--Jim
Martin, Chairman of the 60 Plus Association
2) It's hypocrisy! The "mainstream" news media are quick
to defend First Amendment protections for journalists, but they wilfully
disregard and even scoff at First Amendment freedoms for religious
believers. Here's news for the New York
Times: the family is a much older and stronger institution than yours, and God
is not dead.
--Patrick Reilly, President, Cardinal Newman Society
3) The liberal media saw what
grassroots, Christian conservative Americans feel about homosexual marriage and
they just can't stand it! Americans are waking up to the twisted and bigoted
media. Maybe there is hope after all.
--Donald E. Wilmon, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, American Family
Association
4) "No matter how much the leftist
media wants Americans to believe the redefinition of marriage is inevitable,
that's simply not the case. Every state
that has had the chance has voted overwhelmingly to protect marriage as the
union between one man and one woman and last Wednesday, pro-marriage Americans
visited Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country, voting with their
pocketbooks.”
-- David Cortman, Senior Counsel with
5) Liberals were so very foolish to
pick this fight. Last Wednesday’s national outpouring of support for
traditional marriage, free speech, and free enterprise demonstrates how classy
and tolerant Americans truly are, and how classless and out of the mainstream
the Left has become.
--
Michelle Easton, President, Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute
6) “The Chick-fil-A story should have been on the front page of every newspaper and the top story of every news broadcast. The Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day showed two things – the majority of people in America support conservative values, and the media can’t stand those values and will do everything to report fictional ‘news’ that exists only the their minds.”
--Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
7) “What is most disappointing about the coverage of the Chick-fil-A story is the false narrative perpetuated by the media that standing for God’s plan for marriage somehow means that we are hateful towards or intolerant of homosexuals—a clear and biased attack by the media on the Christian faith. We do not discriminate against anyone, but recognize there are core values laid forth by the Christian faith that promote the common good, and our freedom to speak and exercise those values must not be silenced.”
--Father Shenan J. Boquet, President, Human
Life International
8) Dan
Cathy has taken heat from the mainstream media, however the fact that August
1st marks a world sales record for Chick-fil-A reveals that Americans
still believe in religious freedom. The Constitution--a document that evolved
from our Judeo-Christian heritage--promotes free expression of religion and
guarantees protection from such persecution.”
--Lea Carawan, Executive Director, Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation
9) "Chick-fil-A one of the finest
companies in
-- Ralph Reed, Chairman, Faith and Freedom Coalition
10) The point about this whole
controversy that I find so amusing and ironic is how President Obama's publicly
stated position on gay marriage has for years, until very recently, mirrored
that of Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy. But now that he has flip-flopped again
on this issue, and at least verbally supports gay marriage, the media believe
the time is ripe for piling on not only Chick-fil-A, but the whole
Judeo-Christian belief in traditional marriage.
--Don
Irvine, Chairman of Accuracy in Media
11) “Mr. Cathy’s simple exercise of
constitutionally protected free speech and religious liberty has the mayors of
-- Paul E. Rondeau, M.A.M., Executive Director, American Life League
12) Thanks to the mayors of
--Barbara Ledeen , WomenUnited
13) "Most people misunderstand the
Chick-fil-A controversy. It's not about
any corporate policy related to hiring employees or serving customers. It's
about constitutionally-protected personal speech. Free speech advocates regardless of ideology
should all support Mr. Cathy's right to speak freely."
-- Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
14) In order to grasp the absurdity of
the call to boycott Chick Fil A, just
think what your reaction and that of everyone you knew at the time would have
been had some suggested even five years ago that a business should be impeded
in its enterprise because it's CEO publicly said he believe in the tradition or
marriage. The current imbroglio is enough to drive a vegetarian to "eat
more chicken".
--Rev. Robert Sirico, President, Acton Institute
15) "Religious liberty is under
assault in America by an Obama administration that has done more to undermine
American values than at any other time in our history. If we don't fight for our liberties -- and I
mean stand up, become active, and push back against the liberals waiting for
government to stomp out our faith with their agenda -- Christians will find
themselves silenced, shamed, and eventually outnumbered by those seeking to
radically redefine the American landscape."
--Rev Louis P. Sheldon, Chairman and Founder, Andrea S. Lafferty,
President, Traditional Values Coalition
16) "The radical assault on
Chick-fil-A by zealous anti-Christian and anti-American zealots has backfired.
Christian citizens and freedom-loving Americans are rightfully outraged
by the blatant attempt to use the heavy hand of government to censor and
discriminate against an American business because its CEO believes in the
sanctity of marriage. The politicians who seek to punish certain
political and religious beliefs are the real perpetrators of hate and
intolerance.”
--Brian
Burch, President, CatholicVote.org
17) When the mainstream media ignore
stories that are important to millions of Americans, out of ideological bias
and anti-Christian animus, they’re just diving more nails into their own
coffins. The media’s continuing failure
to perform their vital role in our culture is making them irrelevant and
accelerating their replacement by new sources of information.
--Dr. Jim Garlow, Chairman, Renewing American Leadership Action
18) When sitting mayors proclaim that a
private company, like Chic-fil-A, is not welcome in their city because its
owner believes in the Bible’s teaching on marriage and family, that’s big
news. It’s news because those elected officials are publicly
declaring they will defend ideology over the legal rights of our citizens.
--Father Jonathan Morris, Program Director, "The Catholic
Channel"
19) Our early colonists' and Founders'
claims are being turned on their head. Continually, our grassroots
believers are asked to make the same impossible choice America’s founders
faced: live fidelity to your faith or your government. The media’s attack
against Chic-fil-A is over nothing less than that same battle.
--Marjorie
Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List
20) When millions of people turned out
nationwide this past Wednesday for Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day and the news
reports gave greater coverage to the small bands of protesters at a couple of
locations, the average Joe was incredulous. What better evidence that the
mainstream media cares little for Christians and traditional values do we
need?
--Brian Brown, President, National Organization for Marriage
21) "Dan Cathy and
Chick-fil-A took quite a hammering from much of the media and pro-same sex
marriage groups over his stance on traditional marriage. When he was targeted
for ridicule and humiliation for standing firm in his personal convictions and
faith, he did not back down nor did he have a spokesman try to explain what the
CEO really meant. Americans voted with their feet and their purses as they sent
a message that should resonate with the leaders of this nation.
--William G. "Jerry"
Boykin Executive Vice President, FRC,
retired lieutenant general of the U.S. Army
To schedule an interview with MRC President Brent Bozell or another MRC spokesperson, please contact Jeremy Little - jlittle@crcpublicrelations.com (703)-683-5004
