FIND MOR CHIKIN

In the things I read, Chick-fil-A has cropped up in the past several days for being unashamedly anti-same-sex marriage. "Guilty as charged," COO Dan Cathy is quoted in the Baptist Press.

To split hairs, he was only talking about the company's support of a "traditional" family, which, one supposes, has a mother and father. (Why they don't think two daddies or two mommies are a valid, loving family is anybody's guess.)

Regardless of any leaps in logic, the Baptist Press article was followed by such fallout as:

• Boston mayor Tom Menino is talking about banning the business from the city
• the Muppets are now shunning the company after a deal to put branded toys in Chick-fil-A kid's meals
• and, apparently, TV's Ed Helms has said on Twitter that he's boycotting them too 

And all this comes after the Equality Matters report from early this month, saying that though the company likes to support charitable causes in its communities, lots of the money it's spent on charity has gone to anti-gay campaigns.

All this made me realize: when was the last time I'd ever SEEN a Chick-fil-A?

That would be the last time I remember being at Lloyd Center. Which would have been high school. Possibly 1995.

Are they near me and I just haven't noticed?

No, of course. You're more likely to stumble across the Bible-faithful company outside of the cities I might frequent. Their restaurant locator says there are a whopping 2 in Massachusetts, both north of Boston - and 1 in New Hampshire. There's only one in New York City - and that's only for NYU students. The only ones in the Northwest are two in Idaho.

However, there are triple digits in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, topping out at 263 in Texas. They're also well represented in California, Pennsylvania, and Maryland (above 50 in those states); with a decent number in states like Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, and Ohio.

The company has tried to clarify things by saying it's not going to get involved in the political debate over same-sex marriage, and also said it doesn't discriminate against workers based on sexual orientation.

Are customers another matter?

By all accounts, it's a successful company. Surely if you can sponsor a televised college bowl game you've got to be making money from somebody.

ALSO OF NOTE...

Northeastern U already banned Chick-fil-A back in Feb.