FAIRFIELD
-- Only a few same sex couples showed up to Fairfield's Chick-fil-A on
Friday aiming to counteract the hundreds of people who flocked to the
same location Wednesday in a show of support for the company
leadership's stance against same sex marriage.
"Chick-fil-A
Appreciation Day" on Wednesday was to be countered with "kiss-ins" by
same-sex couples at assorted restaurant locations Friday.
But at
what is currently the Bay Area's only Chick-fil-A, the Fairfield
location was basically quiet, painting a stark contrast to Wednesday
when the site was so inundated with customers showing their support for
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy, that it actually ran out of food by the
end of the day.
Cathy has come under fire for saying he is opposed to same-sex marriage.
The
owner of the Fairfield franchise could not be reached for comment
Friday, as the business phone line remained busy throughout the day, but
a few gay marriage supporters did stop in to make their views known.
Driving
all the way from Portland, Ore., Salena Hale and Kawana Bullock stopped
at the Fairfield restaurant to kiss. The photo they took of their
embrace will be posted on www.allout.org, they said.
The girlfriends have been together for more than two years.
"We wanted to show our support," Hale said. "So we stopped by."
Their next stop was Union Square in San Francisco for a rally planned at 5 p.m.
The
only
one left to show their support in the afternoon was San Francisco
resident Nicholas Renult who stood alone with his dog Taylor.
Renult stood quietly, letting a provocative sign do his talking.
The poster board read, "I 'heart' Jesus." But Jesus' name was crossed out and replaced with the term for a particular a sex act.
Despite
the sign, Renult who said he is in a committed relationship with a man
said Christians have prayed with him, and have been very friendly,
loving and kind.
"I knew I would be here by myself, but I came to
have a conversation with people," he said. "I'm surprised how civil
everyone has been. They've been really, really respectful."
He merely sees the sign as "satirical," he said.
"If
this sign bothers you, there is much worse on TV and the Internet," he
added. "I wanted to get people's attention with my sense of humor."
The
real purpose for showing up at Chick-fil-A, according to Renult is to
let people know that the privately-owned food chain gives money to
organizations that have a mission of punishing gay people in other
countries.
"I want people out there to know that I might not know
you, but there is a gay man standing here who loves them," he said.
"That they can get through whatever they're faced with."
He was
eagerly waiting for the clock to hit 5 p.m. when even more same-sex
couples were expected to show their support by kissing in front of
Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide.
"There is nothing more
beautiful than when two men kiss, or when two women kiss or when old
people kiss or children kiss, when it's done in a loving and caring
way," he said. "If we all kissed more and talked less we would all be
better off."
All the Chic-Fil-A thing was a huge pig out by a bunch of people who were already convinced of Chic-Fil-A's position anyway.