Community Corner

Protestors Stage Kiss-In at Cuyahoga Falls Chick-Fil-A

Gay rights advocacy group GetEQUAL kiss, picket to protest Dan Cathy's stance on gay marriage.

About 50 gay rights advocates picketed at the Friday night to protest the

The group, organized by members of gay rights advocacy group GetEqual, picketed and same-sex couples kissed in front of the restaurant.

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"We all know that Dan Cathy has a right to his personal beliefs and he has a right to support anti-gay organizations that seek to keep our community from getting full equality under the law, but we also have the right to protest," said Liberty Manos, who organized the local event with her partner Shannon Glatz.

The local event was one of many across the country as part of National Same-Sex Kissing Day at Chick-Fil-A, a response to

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"We were there just to stand together and say that this kind of discrimination is not going to go unnoticed," she added.

Manos said the event went smoothly, though some drivers passing by shouted obscenities and a few customers were a little "combative."

The national event was scheduled for 8 p.m., but the Cuyahoga Falls protest ran from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Other Chick-Fil-As in the area were not as active. No one protested at the Beachwood Place Mall between 7 and 8:30 p.m., though an employee said he had seen a few couples kiss in protest, without incident, during his shift that day.

No one was spotted when local editors checked the Fairlawn, Strongsville and Mentor locations around lunchtime.

Locally, Friday's protest paled in comparison to the number of customers who patronized restaurants Wednesday in support of the company.

Area Patch sites have been buzzing about the controversy:


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