title: CHICK-FIL-A Caves To Gay Mafia And Does Unthinkable In New NYC Store
text: A move that would surely cause now deceased Christian Chick-Fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy to roll over in his grave  In 2012, the fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A came under intense criticism from homosexual groups and their supporters after CEO Dan Cathy said he was  guilty as charged  for supporting traditional marriage. Christians overwhelmingly gave their support, filling restaurants with new customers who turned out, not only for the food, but to make a statement. That may all be about to change. Chick-fil-A is now listed as a sponsor for Level Ground, a  faith-based LGBT film festival,  reports Christian News Network   a discovery that has sparked an online petition demanding the company clarify its  corporate stance regarding previously stated Christian values on marriage and stewardship.  According to Level Ground s website, the group  creates safe space for dialogue about faith, gender, and sexuality through the arts.  The group s film festival started as a student-run event in 2013. It has since expanded and hosted programming in six cities across the U.S., billing itself as  the world s first film festival connecting lesbian, gay and transgender sexuality with faith and evangelical Christianity.  Baptist Press reported participants in Level Ground s most recent film festival, held Oct. 8-10 in Nashville, Tennessee, included former contemporary Christian artist Jennifer Knapp, who came out as a lesbian in 2005, and Karen Swallow Prior, a Liberty University English professor and research fellow for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Gracepointe Church, an evangelical church in Franklin, Tennessee, that came out in January in support of same-sex marriage was also a sponsor. Pryor tweeted her appreciation to Chick-fil-A for its support in Nashville: While the restaurant has had an outpost in New York University s food court with limited access and menu items for more than a decade, the new restaurant will be the first of two slated for the Big Apple. The chain plans to open another location near Rockefeller Center at 46th Street and 6th Avenue. The nation s eighth biggest chain by sales, Chick-fil-A grew its sales 14.4 percent last year and its unit count 6.3 percent domestically, according to market research firm Technomic. This makes it the largest chicken chain in the country, beating out Yum Brands  KFC unit. In private hands since its founding in the early 1960s, Chick-fil-A has expanded more quietly that publicly traded competitors like KFC or Bojangles . Via: wnd 