Illinois LGBT policy organization The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) fought back against Chick-fil-A in what some have jokingly deemed "the chicken war."
The organization has filed complaints against Chick-fil-A, alleging that the franchise violated the Illinois Human Rights Act when its chief operating officer, Dan Cathy, made statements against gay marriage.
The complaint comes a day after Chicago Republicans filed a complaint against Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, who vowed to block the chain from opening in his ward due to Cathy's homophobic comments. The Republican complaint argues that Moreno violated the Illinois Human Rights Act by stating he would deny a business a permit based on the expressed religious beliefs of its COO.
The TCRA complaints have been filed on behalf of one LGBT family, according to a statement released by the organization.
"In our current high speed media and social media environment, Chick-fil-A has announced and caused to be published, to hundreds of millions of people, that LGBT people are unacceptable and objectionable," said TCRA Board President Jacob Meister, in the statement. "They have made it clear the lives of LGBT individuals are unacceptable to them and that same-gender families are unwelcome at Chick-fil-A."
The complaint claims that because Cathy's statements were made about company values, were anti-gay in nature and were not denounced by local chains, the company violated state law that allows for equal access to public accommodations.
TCRA submitted the documents to Illinois Department of Human Rights Aug. 2.