THANK YOU to everyone who participated in our Chick-Fil-A Appreciation program! Your efforts help demonstrate to Americans of good will that pro-marriage business owners have a right to their beliefs and we have a right to support them!

Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s controversial comments on “biblical” marriage last summer and the uproar that followed didn’t dampen the Atlanta company’s annual sales.

The fast food giant, the nation’s second-largest chicken chain, ended 2012 with $4.6 billion in sales — up 14 percent from $4.1 billion a year earlier. The company also opened 96 news stores, four more than the year before.

The company does not have to publicize financial results because it is privately owned. It made revenue and store growth figures available at the request of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Supporters of Cathy’s views against gay marriage and his right to express them hailed the numbers as a victory, saying a summer boycott of the chain by backers of gay marriage failed. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)