Chick-fil-A Is Sponsoring an LGBT Film Festival (Updated)

Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based chain that's closed on Sundays, is sponsoring an LGBT film festival, according to Baptist Global News. This is a somewhat puzzling partnership, given its CEO's history of speaking out against gay marriage, but hey — everyone's entitled to change their minds, right?

Baptist Global News explains that the touring film festival is called Level Ground, and is being "billed as the world’s first faith-based LGBT film festival." According to Level Ground's mission statement, it aims to create a "safe space for dialogue about faith, gender, and sexuality through the arts." The festival's website clearly displays Chick-fil-A's logo on its "Sponsors" page.

Concerned patrons of the chicken chain have launched a Change.org petition to express their displeasure to Chick-fil-A's powers that be, writing that sponsorship of such an event "promote[s] an agenda which is contrary to Chick-fil-A's corporate stance on Christian values regarding marriage and stewardship." The petition currently has 253 signatures.

Chick-fil-A found itself the target of numerous boycotts and protests after CEO Dan Cathy admitted in 2012 to the company's anti-gay marriage position; it was also revealed that the company had donated millions of dollars to anti-gay groups. Eater has reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment and will update with any statement.

Update 10/30 4:10 p.m.: Reached for comment by Eater, a rep for Chick-fil-A clarifies that this is not a corporate sponsorship but rather the act of a franchisee, saying, "The operators make decisions on local sponsorships."