Sacramento, Calif., U.S.A. — Comments from Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy regarding his opinion of natural marriage as one man and one woman expressed during a syndicated radio talk show interview over two weeks ago continue to reverberate as city officials, political activists and media engage in a culture war over re-defining marriage.

Following Cathy’s comments supporting natural marriage, government officials from three cities said they would ban Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants in their municipalities. Demanding a public apology, Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno said that he would deny Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in Chicago’s Logan Square.

“If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don’t want you in the 1st Ward,” Moreno told the Tribune. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald that he would block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in the “Cradle of Liberty.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuelfollowed suit stating, “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values. They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents.” And the Mayor of the District of Columbia called it “hate chicken.”

“To deny business permits or zoning approvals to Chick-fil-A because a president of a privately owned family business expressed his Biblical view of natural marriage is outrageous,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel (www.LC.org) and National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference board member. “Any city trying to ban Chick-fil-A will not win this battle.”

There is absolutely no evidence that Chick-fil-A has discriminated against anyone,” Staver continued. “The intolerance displayed by these government officials ought to serve as a wakeup call to the majority of Americans who support the commonsense understanding of natural marriage. If given the chance, these intolerant officials would silence anyone who supports natural marriage. They have placed extreme ideology over freedom,” Staver concluded.

“It’s clearly unconstitutional for the city to deny permits based on a person’s opinions,” UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said. “It opens the city up to criticism and even litigation.”

Rev. Choco DeJesus, Pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Chicago and vice president of the Social Justice Directive for the NHCLC (www.NHCLC.org), was commissioned by Chicago’s Mayor Daley in 2005 to serve on the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals. Rev. DeJesus said, “I was not commissioned to the Zoning Board of Appeals to legislate my own belief system.

As I served on this Board for five years, I was asked to make sure all zoning requirements were met. I had an ethical obligation not to discriminate based on my Christian beliefs. During my tenor on the Board, I had to approve zoning for bars, tattoo parlors and a number of businesses that went against my Christian beliefs and values.  There was no room for discrimination against any business that met required zoning laws.”

“Chicago is a diverse city and every community within our city is different,” Rev. DeJesus continued. “I don’t know if the Mayor is in touch with all of the value systems in every community of Chicago. Chick-fil-A would bring 110 new jobs to Chicago. Additionally, Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against their employees or their clientele. As long as Chick-fil-A follows every law and passes all zoning requirements, they should be allowed to build in any city across America.”

Evangelist Billy Graham said he appreciates the Cathy family’s public support for God’s definition of marriage and that he endorses Governor Mike Huckabee’s leadership in encouraging Americans in their nationwide support Chick-fil-A on August 1.

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the nation’s largest Christian Hispanic organization, is the Hispanic Evangelical Association unifying, serving and representing the Hispanic Born Again Community via 40,118 member churches and 16 million constituents by reconciling the vertical and horizontal of the Christian message through the 7 Directives of Life, Family, Great Commission, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth.

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Bo Muller-Moore, Vermont resident, really likes kale, a special, leafy kind of cabbage, so much so that he wants to share it with the world, emblazoned on shirts he sells, complete with the slogan, “Eat more kale.” However, it seems not all people like kale as much as Muller-Moore, 38, does, as the fast-food chain, Chick-Fil-A, sent him a cease-and-desist letter last fall.  The company claims that the slogan will make people confuse it with their own, “Eat Mor Chikin.” Moore-Muller, however, decided not to be taken in so easily.

His decision to fight back has resulted in an ongoing court battle, as well as a wave of public support. His plea for help was posted as a petition on Change.org, and the current governor of Vermont, Peter Shumlin, also gives his support and promised to appear on a talk show with Muller-Moore. A former governor’s aide is helping him with public relations.

In addition, the kale fan has been using Facebook to get the masses informed of the situation and band together behind him and his cause. Fans have posted supportive comments on his wall, sent kind e-mails, and signed the petition.

Muller-Moore began to use the phrase in 2000, when a friend asked him to make shirts with the words on them for his family.  More and more people began coming to him, until Muller-Moore found himself with a small business on his hands. The phrase “Eat more kale” currently appears on T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and bumper stickers. Last summer, he decided to guard his slogan and sent in an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application is currently pending.

Despite Chick-Fil-A’s arguments, many remain skeptical that Muller-Moore’s trademark would confuse consumers looking for Chik-Fil-A products. Few buyers are likely to mix chicken up with kale. At this time, there are no Chick-Fil-A restaurants in the state of Vermont.  The closest one is located in Nashua, New Hampshire, 120 miles from Montpelier, Vermont, where Muller-Moore claims residence. “This is corporate bullying,” said Muller-Moore.

About five years ago, Chick-Fil-A sent a cease-and-desist order to Muller-Moore similar to the one he recently received.  A lawyer hired by the Vermonter wrote the company a series of letters, and when Muller-Moore did not receive a reply back from them, he assumed the argument had gone his way.

As of last November, Muller-Moore and his lawyer decided not to back down and were still planning on going ahead with copyrighting the phrase.  The issue has still not been settled as of this time.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/azipaybarah/

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