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This Isn't About Homosexuality, This Is About the First Amendment': Beck Weighs in on Chick-fil-A Controversy

This is all about the election.

With the success of "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" on August 1, it appears the boycott attempts are backfiring on those at the forefront of a campaign (including city mayors like Chicago's Rahm Emanuel) intended to disgrace -- indeed put out of business -- the popular chicken eatery for its Christian principles. For Glenn Beck, the issue has very little to do with gay rights as regards same-sex marriage and much more to do with the Left's desire to squash freedom of speech -- particularly speech with which it is ideologically opposed.

"This is about the First Amendment," Beck said in response during his Thursday morning radio broadcast. "It's the right to speak your mind on a controversial subject, especially in a respectful way, and still continue to be able to maintain your livelihood."

"Freedom isn't free," he added before saying that decency and tolerance should "not put people out of business," nor should people fear speaking their minds. The outpouring of support for Chick-fil-A it shows that Americans are in agreement and have "had enough."

Beck, who defends Americans' right to free speech, asked if people want to live in a country where they would have to fear speaking their own mind or risk persecution.

"If we don't stand together we lose," Beck said.

"I want freedom. I want liberty. I want the right to choose my own path. I want the right to fail and say stupid things -- to think these things -- because once you stop thinking or living in a society that says 'you can't think that way,' the country fails."

"We're not haters," Beck exclaimed.

"Hate mongers, homophobic, yeah, like I'm afraid of homosexuals.  They're not afraid of me; I'm not afraid of them.  Please... They're not afraid.  Neither am I."

Beck went on to explain that the Left's tactic of crying "racism and bigot" simply does not work anymore.

"We're not afraid of it anymore.  We don't care anymore what you say about us.  Because we know it's not true.  We don't care.... No.  Americans want to be respectful.  We want to be loving, we want to be tolerant because that's who we are.  That's who we always have been."

Beck juxtaposed the tolerance created after generations of American cultural growth with the actual bigotry of the Left in wishing "disease" and strife on Chick-fil-A founders and employees. He asked how the Left then is any different than the vitriolic Westboro Baptist protesters. "Hatred has many facets, as does tolerance," he observed.

"The left doesn't have any idea what they're even doing.  And you know why most of this is happening?  It's not even really about homosexuality.  It's not about chicken sandwiches.  It's about a stupid election.  They're dividing us again for election points.  How ridiculous.  Tolerance has been achieved.  But the goal now is to get somebody elected, and the goal is to totally and completely silence you, eliminate another point of you altogether.  And that we must not and will not ever tolerate."

Beck then thanked the Left for making his point for him and for showing Americans their true colors.

For those unfamiliar, the turmoil surrounding Chick-fil-A began when the family-run chicken restaurant chain announced it would donate refreshments to a conservative conference supporting traditional marriage and intensified after founder Dan Cathy, responding to an interview question by the Baptist Press, announced that the Atlanta-based company is "very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit."

While he did clarify that the company "values" and "serves all people," a massive boycott campaign was waged by gay advocacy groups and leftist lawmakers around the country.

Chick-fil-A is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and has eateries located across the country. The company is known for embracing Christian values and applying those principles in its day-to-day operations. It invests heavily in community service organizations and all Chick-fil-A locations are closed on Sundays. With this in mind, Cathy's comments regarding traditional marriage is far from shocking, which leads many to believe the controversy is a manufactured one, intended to aid in the 2012 re-election campaign of Barack Obama.

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