Former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate turned talk show host Mike Huckabee appealed to Americans who favor traditional marriage to dine en masse at their local Chick-fil-A on August 1.

Billy Graham, the 93-year-old dean of Evangelist preachers, meanwhile praised the Cathy family's "public support for God's definition of marriage."

"As the son of a dairy farmer who milked many a cow, I plan to 'Eat Mor Chikin' and show my support by visiting Chick-fil-A next Wednesday," he said in a statement Thursday.

The National Organization for Marriage also endorsed August 1 as a chance to rally support for retaining the Defense of Marriage Act, which blocks the recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level.