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Boycotting Christian Beliefs: Pittsburgh Leaders Try to Boot Chick-Fil-A Sponsorship for Kid's Marathon

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Christian-based establishments and business owners continue to come under fire for their religious beliefs, and the latest target is one familiar with the fight – Chick-fil-A.
 
Several groups of leaders in Pittsburgh want to pull an event sponsorship by Chick-fil-A because its CEO holds Christian views about homosexuality.
 
Organizers for the 2019 Pittsburgh Kids Marathon announced last month that Chick-fil-A would be the title sponsor for the one-mile race.
 
But community leaders almost immediately pushed back, citing concerns over Chick-fil-A's stance on gay marriage due to previous comments made by CEO Dan Cathy.
 
According to the Pittsburgh Gazette, all nine city council members signed a letter calling for the sponsorship removal.
 
The letter reads, "The leadership of Chick-Fil-A has openly and passionately promulgated hateful beliefs against the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, the company has financed organizations staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and non-discrimination laws and other groups that equate 'homosexual behavior and lifestyle' with lawlessness and in opposition to the 'the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society.'"
 
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board has also joined in the Chick-fil-A bashing, going so far as to threaten to ban district employees and schools from participating unless marathon organizers boot Chick-fil-A.
 
"They have several beliefs, which they've expressed officially, largely through religious basis, that are quite discriminatory and are quite inconsistent with the district's policies regarding discrimination on the basis of gender, race, etc.," Ira Weiss, the school solicitor, told the Gazette.
 
In 2016, the Pittsburgh school board unanimously approved a Transgender and Gender Expansive Students policy that allows students to use pronouns, names and bathrooms they identify with. A resolution regarding Chick-fil-A's sponsorship is expected to be voted on at a board meeting.
 
A petition has also been posted at Action Network to ban Chick-fil-A, accusing the fast-food chain of being "an openly homophobic and transphobic business."
 
Despite those accusations, Chick-fil-A's policies are not discriminatory since the company employs and serves LGBT individuals.
 
This is not the first time Chick-fil-A has been targeted.
 
Back in May of 2016, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a boycott against the popular restaurant chain.
 
Additionally, Fordham University, a Catholic institution, banned Chick-fil-A at its New York City campus in 2017 after facing opposition from gay activists.
 
And when Chick-fil-A announced in August 2018 that they would be opening a restaurant in Toronto, Canada next year, locals already began vowing to boycott, arguing on social media the brand has "no place in Canada" and that it should "stay out."
 
The continuous attacks against the restaraunt chain have not kept the company from living up to its mission:
  "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."
 
Read more articles on Chick-fil-A's acts of kindness:
 
The Bible repeatedly addresses the hatred that will fall upon Christians for following the Lord.
 
reads, "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!"
 

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