dan cathy is allowed to be a bigot. it's a free country. ne is trying to take away his free speech. talk all you want, dan. say what you want to say. it will be funny in 20 years when chick-fil-a boughs to the lgbt appreciation day. be a bigot but don't call it christian because it ain't. >> leviticus 11:7-8. and the pig is unclean to you. you shall not each any of their flesh, you shall not touch their car can casss. i'm going to quote leviticus 11:10, it says you shall not lie with a man. >> it's an abomination. >> all that fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers and all that move in the waters, and any living thing which is in the water, it's an abomination. so if you eat, shrimp bacon crabs, clams lobster you're an abomination. why are they not protesting in front of red lobster. >> and look at the breakfast menu. you'll find the bay can egg and cheese biscuit, and you're right. if dan cathy believes the part of the bible that says man with man is an abomination he's as abominable because he's serving this. if he believes his own w

chick-fil-a is a fast food chain headed up by religious man dan cathy. he believes marriage should be between a man and woman and has stated that publicly. >> i think we are inviting god's judgment on hour nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you what constitutes a marriage. pray god's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful arrogant attitude to think that we would the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about. >> bill: well, in response, a culture battle has broken out. the mayors of boston, chicago, and san francisco are saying they don't want chick-fil-a restaurants in their cities. they can s'tp them, but the rhetoric makes t difficult for a public business to operate in safety. in fact, san francisco mayor ed lee said on twitter, quote: closest chick-fil-a is 40 miles away and i strongly recommend they not try to come any closer. well, that sounds like a threat, does it not? former arkansas governor and current fox news host mike huckabee is leading a campaign to have folks buy stuff at the restauran

if you don't like dan cathy, don't buy his product. talking points is fine with that. but to pressure others to think like you is wrong. the free marketplace should be just that both products and ideas should be openly displayed without threats of any kind. but today the haters and exploiters have center stage and they're doing damage to the nation. nobody forces anybody to buy chicken. the company wants to sell chicken in boston or chicago or san francisco, no pinheaded politician should be trying to hurt that business because they disagree with the politics of management. marriage is not a civil right. and until the supreme court rules that it is, which is doubtful, no bias charge is valid. people of good conscious stands on both sides of the issue and their opinions should be respected. that's the memo. now for the top story tonight, reaction. joining us from washington michelle fields reporter for the daily caller web site. dave reuben radio talk show host guy on sirius xm. you say. >> happy chick-fil-a approach yea day. another important day that has been brought

i want them to be tolerant with dan cathy and his view. it is really the same position that barack obama had until may of this year when he needed the votes from the gay community. lou: his little buddy, rahm emanuel, the mayor of chicago. coming out wiih the sanctimonious silly nonsense and saying that we are not -- chick-fil-a does it represent the values of chicago. >> i hope not. lou: it is the murder capital of america. this mayor who said that he would reduce murder in his city, as he refers to as his city -- i love that. it is up 30%. >> the real irony, the time he spent saying that chick-fil-a did not represent chicago values -- and by the way, same-sex marriage is against the law in his city. the very day he is doing now, he has a public event with louis kirkham, who has made some of the most vitriolic statements about gay people and gay marriage are more so than anyone dan cathy had offended, and a very anti-semitic woman. this is amazing that he did not ask for him to lead chicago. lou: it's interesting that he does this and it'

that's what dan cathy said.en ex trap late on by the muse media to say that must mean you are against homosexual marriage. conservatives say we believe in free speech. if the left like josh want to say we are not in favor of free speech or we should beat people up personally or financially because of their expression. free speech. do they plan to take the same standard with our muslim friends when they want a mosque in their cities? >> he's entitled to express his beliefs. the market will decide whether people want to patronize chk-fil-a or not. people are entitled to express those beliefs. the question is what platform are they given. when it's the companies whose ceos making those comments, it's a question of whether that platform is appropriate. not a question of whether they have a right to say those things. megyn: starbucks and ben and jerry's institutions have come out in favor of gay marriage. would you want to see folks like dan cathy, folks who believe in traditional marriage boycott them? should we get

both dan cathy and the whole family.he company's been known for standing for biblical values for a long time. this is a company that doesn't even do business on sunday because of their christian convictions. and in this case, dan cathy spoke as a christian, to a christian journalist, about his understandings of marriage, and he had every right to do so, and i think the company is demonstrating the very kind of kindness and winsomeness you would expect not only of an american restaurant company, but of people who genuinely love their customers and are very glad to do business with everyone that walks in and does business with them. >> has chick-fil-a prevented people who are for gay marriage by not taking the bait? that young woman there was, whatever your point of view on this story, very poised and polite to that man. >> absolutely. and she was definitely bum rushed and i was embarrassed watching the video. that is not how i think that issue should have been brought up, certainly to someone so young, and obviously is no

>> i think they should and not because of what dan cathy said because everybody is entitle toed theiron but because this company spends a lot of money, $3 million over the last several years funneling that money into right wing anti-gay groups that work against marriage equality but also more broadly, engage in things like conversion therapy. this company is a company that has no employment protections for their gay and lesbian employees. they have said previously they're going to fire people based upon their private conduct. that perhaps adulters have no place working at chick-fil-a. it is a company with some strange corporate policies. it is best practices corporate best practice 101. all of the big companies now promote diversity and have protections for their employees. chick-fil-a is on the opposite end of the spectrum. >> eliot: i have said since this issue emerged consumers have every right to spend their dollars in support and with companies that reflect their values. it is that simple. i said the other night brawny paper towels is owned by the koch brothers. i'm buying bounty

out front tonight, a man who knows dan cathy and his family, albert bowler, his son also works at a chick-fil-ad, let me start with you. you know the cathy family. are you handling this the way you would expect and do they the acknowledge that they caused a massive firestorm here? >> well, they're a wonderful family. and both dan kathy and the whole family. and the company's been known for standing for biblical values for a long time. this is a business that doesn't even do business on sunday because of their christian convictions. and in this case, dan cathy spoke as a christian, to a christian journalist, about his understandings of marriage, and he had every right to do so, and i think the company is demonstrating the very kind of company, but of people who genuinely love their customers, and are very glad to do business with everyone that walks in and does business with them. >> has chick-fil-a sort of prevented people who are for gay marriage and in a gay community from getting traction in the dispute by, well, not taking the bait? that young woman was there, whatever your view point on th

but dan cathy, mike huckabee are using side claims about free speech and religious freedom.d like to talk about the issues. if this was a pro equality company i would report this story in the exact same way. the only difference is the way the company would respond. starbucks, facebook, those companies run into equality because they know it's good business. >> jeremy hooper from glaad, thanks for joining us. >> thank you so much. >> it's been one of the more controversial parts of the health care law. today a mandate to provide contraception to employees officially kicks in. 58 lawsuits have been filed as employers say it goes against their beliefs. birth control is one of several preventative services the obama administration says insurers must cover without charging a copay including mammograms and screenings of adults for depression, diabetes and colorectal cancer. >> ted cruz wins the primary run-off for the senate in texas. high profile republicans including sarah palin and rick santorum stumped for cruz. do youhurst has been lieutenant governor to rick perry for nearly

they tell me this goes beyond what dan cathy says.k-fil-a's charitable foundation wind shape gives money to groups with anti-gay positions and actively campaign against gay marriage. i talked with the group's leader and asked her what she thought about the criticism heaped upon ceo dan cathy when see like jeff bezos of amazon are not similarly criticized for holding the opposing position? >> dan cathy giving his money to hate organizations is much different than am is -- amazon giving their money to support lgbtq marriage. amazon is looking to support everybody. it should be human and equal rights for all, really. >> reporter: for its part, chick-fil-a welcomes today's protest. steve robinson, vp of marketing issuing statement quote, friday may be opportunity to serve and genuine hospitality and great food. not likely any protesters will eat here. mcdonald's has given those people vouchers for their chicken sand sandwich today, patti ann. patti ann: interesting. where does the country stand on gay marriage? >> reporter: views have bee

. >> and dan cathy has every right to be a bigot. and those who say its free speech that's rubbish.these are the same folks who bigoted j.c. penney over an ad. he can be as bigoted as he wants. but he can't hide behind the bible doing that. he's relying on leviticus and leviticus. >> eliot: these are books-- >> yes. >> eliot: i just want to make sure. >> the book of leviticus that says you shall not lie with a man, that's an abomination. that's where they all hang this one passage because they can't use jesus to justify. but the same book says bans eating shell fish. we talked about last week it bans eating fork and they do have a bacon egg and cheese biscuit, dan you're breaking your bible laws. >> eliot: i may get you dan cat cathy's phone number. he may not have read about that part of park. he may change his menu after hearing that suggestion. >> in the long run they'll be fine. they'll do goodbyes every week on bigot tuesday or whatever it's going to be. jesus said if you want to do my work, feed the poor. people say if you want to do jesus' work, feed yourself in a long line.

supporters of gay marriage tried to organize protests against the fast food chain after its ceo dan cathy made comments. he's the same man that doesn't allow his chain to open on sundays because of his religious beliefs. >> freedom of speech, freedom of religion. >> this is not what the issue is about. the issue of the lgbt civil rights is about full inclusion, full participation. >> gay rights groups have called for protests of their own, kiss-ins to be held at chick-fil-a restaurants all across the land. go to facebook. we want to know what you're thinking. are you participating in the support chick-fil-a day? log on to our facebook, abc2news.com/facebook. >>> all right. we have brand-new video to show you. check this out. boats, rafts, helicopters, they were on back river for a big training exercise. it was the collaboration between the army national guard. teams practiced pulling their resources together and working as a team on several different kinds of wart rescue. in a state with as much water as we have, you never know when we'll need extra help and the skills they practiced toda

. >> reporter: dan cathy recently made public comments in support of the biblical definition of the family unit. some customers who support same- sex marriage feel burned. >> it's terrible policy and material business. >> i think you have to be careful when you're dealing with the public. you can't get into any controversial issues. >> reporter: the controversy took a big bite out of customers' perceptions of the policy. >> it's about freedom of speech. >> reporter: so customers are putting their money with weather their mouth is. chick-fil-a thanked customers for their support. >>> >> reporter: nearly 600,000 flocked to chick-fil-a for the support drive. >>> want to update your status and let your friends know you're about to board a plane for vase splais cool? dak that now for free. bwi marshall has free wi-fi service. can you access the internet by opening a browser, but tough listen to an ad or two before the 45-minute session. there's commercial-free wi-fi with a price. >>> michael fepts may soon be the most marketable face in the world. that's the hope as he continues to rack up the

the nationwide campaign falls on the heels of remarks from restaurant's president, dan cathy, saying's definition of a family unit -- which was generally interpreted as a stance against same-sex marriage. organizers called on same-sex couples to take part in "kiss day," and post their pictures online. it's good that everybody's on facebook. it's about it. but you've got to g - get out like this. gay and lesbian activists took to the streets in the atlanta area to send their message loud and clear. you don't have to be gay to be out here today. you can be straight. it's not about making out in front of chick-fil-a. it's about standing up for what you believe in. it's about standing together in solidarity. in california, some people found another way to express their distaste for the chicken chain's president . someone painted "tastes like hate" on a chick-fil-a restaurant in torrance. "kiss day" marked the second nationwide campaign centered around the fast-food restaurant this week. wednesday, customers held a ""hick-fil-a appreciation day" to show support of chick-fil-a. the company

yes. >> it seems to me everyone keeps railing it that oh dan cathy has protected speech.ring an lgbt pride festival. >> wow. >> john fugelsang are you watching the olympics at all? >> i am trying to. and i'm really really thrilled to see gabby win, she is from my mom's hometown virginia beach. >> you know who is an insane olympic fan. samuel samuel l jackson. his twitter page is above all an excitable place. >> i want these mother [ censor bleep ] snakes out my mother [ censor bleep ]. >> the olympics right? >> right? with cats blocked and insertion of the word mother [ censor bleep ], jackson creates a quarantine zone of olympic fever where nationalism mixes with joy that is walking upside down on a staircase next to glory. [ applause ] >> he is incredibly enthusiastic about every event. wow. wow. wow. good for him. all right. katy perry and john mayer have gone a date together everybody. her body obviously a wonderland. >> apparently. there was canoodling. >> that's great. >> how long can it be before he says inappropriate things about her on twitter. >> i don't think p

and the very day rahm emanuel is up there criticizing and saying that can -- dan cathy's values aren't chicago values he had his arm around louis farrakhan anti-semitic and woman against same sex marriage. i think hypocrisy and the inconsistency is part of the problem. but the bullying toward chick-fil-a trying to put them out of business. i find that offensive. look, i go and visit people all the time whose businesses maybe are led by people i don't agree with i'm buying their product, not their politics. >> juan: absolutely. if you go to ben and jerry's it doesn't. >> i sip starbucks and order things from amazon and i love apple computer products. i'm not stopping my patronage of those firms unless they were to ever put something in their bag when i bought something that said we hate christians. they resident done that they treat me respectfullies a customer. all that matters with chick-fil-a do they treat their customers with respect? >> i agree. this is the thing. one of the chicago -- want to stop chick-fil-a from coming in where is their antidiscrimination policy. when it is poin

and i'll remind your viewers that dan cathy also was asked if he would hire a gay individual.used for a long while and then says, it depends on circumstances. i want clarity. is that circumstance if the gay individual walks in and is proud of being gay? those are against the law in illinois. and i need a clarification that the policies of the company -- >> what would be your standard on whether to use your aldermanic prif levilege to stoe construction of a chick-fil-a? >> it's my responsibility to have responsible businesses and part of the businesses responsibility is not have discriminatory policies. so if the -- >> what's your definition of discriminatory policies? help us out here. >> fraior instance, prior to th facebook posting i did not have a commitment from the company that they were open to not only hiring but serving those of different sexual orientations. >> did you have complaints that they were not? >> they've been sued 19 times. >> 19 times for sexual discrimination or what? >> for discrimination against a minority group. and that was from 2009. so i'm sure it's

dan cathy have joined the ranks of the world's richest.matt out front is man who tracks this and knows everything this is to know about these guys who has suddenly emerged on the national stage. as important power players. so how much are dan and donald worth? >> they're each worth $1.5 billion, they own chick-fil-a with their father truitt cathy. who founded the company decades ago. who invented the chicken sandwich. >> is that like insenting the internet? >> invent the chicken sandwich. in the south, very much so. chick-fil-a is sort of a staple in life in terms of their chicken sandwich, and a big deal in the south. >> all right. $1.5 billion for each of these guys. how unusual is it when you look at other fast food chains, mcdonald's, et cetera, are these the richest of the rich or is this standard? >> it's not standard. some of the richest in fast food. the richest are the three brazilian billionaires who took burger king public recently. this is certainly the richest >> why haven't we heard of them before that. sounds like they've be

but he maintained his opposition to dan cathy and stood by his letter to the head of the company. >> eta: i take it that dan kathy has not changed his statement, either? >> no. the company has not said too much publicly since issuing a statement, stressing that their restaurants don't discriminate in their service at all to people. you know, it is sort of -- carried on -- on in social media, penal passing around the mayor's letter. it is really created a groundswell and then with mike huckabee, you know, calling for the appreciation day on the other side of the issue. >> greta: is this over? is this going to go on? have you figured that one out? >> it's amazing how long it has gone on and maybe going to end up being good for business for chick-fil-a because maybe they are having more customers show up. but, you know, it's hard to tell how long this will go on. it is interesting. >> greta: indeed, it is. thank you. >> thank you. >> greta: coming up, are there big secrets at the white house? some republicans just discovered email sent from a prior address at a white house official. why

well, it's simple, i didn't want a christian brother, dan cathie to express a biblical version of marriagend angry hate speech from people who attempt today bully automatic out of business and dan to be alone. and when mayors in boston, chicago, washington and san francisco actually threatened to censor his speech and keep him from local commercial in their cities, if freedom loving americans didn't speak up, they would be sit in the back frt political bus and told to shut up. and the coo simply expressed his personal view of marriage. and by the way, it's a view shared by voters in all 32 states where that's been on the ballot and the one that was shared by even barack obama until just a few months ago. i'm not anti-gay. i do business with gay people. i have employed gay people. i have friends who are gay. i just don't like intolerance, hate speech and bigotry carried out against religious people like dan cathie. being a christian shouldn't mean being disenfranchised. and ceo's aren't targeted, the ceo's of apple computer, starbucks and amazon are among those who support same sex marriage

you call dan cathy homophobic. he says, i'm for marriage between one man and one woman.s not hatred. he just comes out and says i'm nor marriage for. >> sometimes negative and hatred do overlap, you do agree? >> of course, of course. >> that's a big concession when it comes to some of these protests -- against pro marriage equality organizations or institutions. >> hatred is negative. >> yes, it is. >> marriage between one man and one woman, rick santorum did the same thing. it doesn't mean he hates gay people. it just means he doesn't believe marriage is between two men or two women. it's one man, one woman. that's a thousands of years belief. >> thanks to all three of you. i must say i gave amtrak too much credit. and you were correct. amtrak sent us a statement -- i'm sorry, amtrak. but you asked for this. this is not a social agenda, the current ads are part of a campaign that amtrak is using to target a lgtb community since 2010. it took them two years. maybe that's why they lost half a billion dollars. >>> breaking news on the u.s. role in syria and president obama

but this big sales number coming right in the middle of this debate over dan cathy's opposition to same-sexse, is the president of chick-fil-a. chick-fil-a does say that this appreciation day was not created by the restaurant, but former arkansas governor mike huckabee got the momentum really going on facebook. 500,000 people signed up beforehand to support the company and dan cathy. but get this, opponents of chick-fil-a, they're planning their own event for tomorrow. gay rights organizers are encouraging same-sex couples to take to the streets or maybe take to the chick-fil-a parking lots and take pictures of themselves kissing in front of a chick-fil-a. >> national same-sex kiss-in day, i believe is what it is. so we'll be covering that tomorrow as well. alison kosik, thank you so much, from new york. >>> you know, many experts say that college loan debt may be the next bubble to burst here. students are just really having a tough time paying off those loans, so they're coming to the cnn help desk to get their questions answer. ha hey, poppy. >> today we're talking about how to pay to co

. >> dan cathy on marriage and what it ought to be. getting reaction from the media and some liberal politicians. you had mayors in big cities saying we're not going to let chick-fil-a expand because of what they said. what happened to free speech. >> and when the mayor menino in boston and the mayor of washington d.c. jumped in and said, in a blatantly unconstitutional comment that they were going to try to legally ban chick-fil-a from operating within the limits of their city. that gave the story their legs. you're not talking about houses of prostitution or crack houses. they're talking about a legal operations trying to sell you a chicken sandwich and got everybody motivated. look, it's not the traditional against gay marriage, it's about free speech and first amendment. and shame on the media for blacking out the story and media can't exercise their rights under the first amendment and would not come to the defense of chick-fil-a. >> and pointing out how the mayor of boston has allowed a mosque in bft built on city land, million a

dan cathy told baptist press chick-fil-a is supportive of the family unit.perceived antigay marriage renewed debate. company received criticism from some people including politicians, other businesses and college campuses. equality maryland which is maryland'sless byian transgender and bisexual organization calls the comments antigay. since cathy's statement as the controversy expanded, the company's brand has starred to deteriorate. that's -- started to deteriorate. they are encouraging people to come out today. on friday, protesters will be out here as well trying to get people not to come and eat at the chain restaurant. reporting hive in parkville -- live in parkville, sherrie johnson. >> five things to know before you head out the door this morning. president obama heads to the battleground state of ohio today. he is visiting mansfield and akron before heading back to the white house. >>> a running mate for mitt romney is an app for that. you will be the first to know who mitt romney chooses. he is expected to announce that decision sometime between now

chick-fil-a is one of them, but company president dan cathy's public opposition to same sex marriage and company donations to conservative christian groups sparked an online petition drive among some college park students to ask the university to replace the franchise. e. >> kind of a symbol that, you know, there are places in -- you know, everyone that, you know, indirectly still affect decisions that affect lbgt individuals as 2nd class individuals and that still signals to me as something hindering our progress at the university. >> reporter: a quick survey of students eating in the food court found little support in the movement to ban chick-fil- a. >> if the students don't agree with the owner's ideology, then they can just choose not to eat there. >> i just think he's entitled to his own opinion and i mean not necessarily that i like approve of his opinion, but it doesn't really matter what i think. >> reporter: the restaurant should stay? >> yeah, i think the restaurant should stay. >> reporter: the director of the student union says debate and discussion is expected at the un