Franklin Graham responded to a petition to keep Chick-fil-A out of a Pennsylvania university’s food court, saying gay students shouldn’t be afraid to eat at the restaurant.
Graham, who is the President of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, made the remarks on his Facebook page Thursday. Graham’s full comments were in response to an article in the Washington Times reporting that a Duquesne University student asked the school to reconsider Chick-fil-A as an option in its new dining area.
According to The Duquesne Duke, Duquesne's student-run newspaper, Niko Martini made the proposal on his own behalf, saying in a statement, “Chick-fil-A has a questionable history on civil rights and human rights.”
Graham said that “Activists fear that gay students might not feel it is a ‘safe place’ for them to eat. That’s ridiculous. It’s a very safe place for them.”
The Charlotte-based evangelist went on to mention that several fast food chains in America were founded by Christians, including In-N-Out Burger, which prints scripture from the Bible on its packaging.
Graham also said that “Gays don’t need to be afraid of Christians, because God tells Christians to love everyone, even though we disagree with them.”
