On June 12, 2016, a mass shooting terrorist attack took place inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 49 people died and 53 more were injured in the attack. Our nation continues to mourn the loss of the people killed and we continue to pray for and support those who are recovering physically as well as mentally. Even in the darkest and most confusing times, there are people standing up like shining lights to remind us that evil will always lose in the end. One such group of people are those from Chick-fil-a. Chick-fil-a is a Christian company based in Atlanta, GA that is notorious for keeping its doors closed on Sundays so that it’s employees can spend the day with their families and attend services at their places of worship. However, on June 12, a Chick-fil-a location in Orlando made an exception to their own rule. Some of the employees at the Lee Vista location came in on their day off and cooked up food and made drinks and brought them to the location where people were lined up to donate blood to the victims.

Many companies have donated of their time and resources to help the aftermath of the attack so what makes Chick-fil-a special? There was a call for blood to help the 53 injured and the response was overwhelming, people stood in line for hours to donate to the mostly gay victims. In 2012, Chick-fil-a’s stance on gay marriage was made public. The company holds steadfast in its belief of only traditional marriage between a man and a woman. This sparked outrage with many equal rights activists, protests and boycotts were arranged and it has been unfairly branded “hateful” by many people. But since Chick-fil-a supposedly hates gay people why would it support blood donors whose blood was going to help the mostly gay victims of the attack? Some could argue that it was a publicity stunt even though their efforts were not covered by the media until days later, but what I believe is that they simply wanted to show compassion for people even though they have openly disagreed with their lifestyles.

Yes, Chick-fil-a does not agree with gay marriage but disagreeing with someone’s actions or lifestyle is not analogous with hate. Hate is the conscious decision to act against an individual in a malicious way. Hate is what overcame Omar Mateen and drove him to commit the worst mass shooting in US history. Chick-fil-a’s simple action of bringing free food to blood donors is a message to us all; people will never completely agree with everything that each other does but we can still choose to treat each other with the love and compassion that each person deserves. Gay, straight, transgender, pan-sexual, it does not matter, we are all human. Chick-fil-a is not a company full of hate but rather one that emulates compassion for all regardless of race or sexual orientation. It is okay to disagree but it is not okay to use senseless violence on those whom you disagree with. Chick-fil-a's message of love and compassion for all is something that everyone should take with them wherever they go.