Part of what makes our country great has been on display for public consumption since Chick-Fil-A Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy publicly spoke out against gay marriages.

We believe Cathy had every right to give his opinion to the Baptist Press, especially since his business is a private company.

Gay rights activists have every right to boycott the Atlanta-based fast-food chain, or hold demonstrations, like the “kiss-in” planned for today, Aug. 3. And conversely supporters of Cathy’s stance on gay marriages can show their support by patronizing the restaurant, which is what occurred Wednesday during Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. The New York Times reported 650,000 customers signed up to support its more than 1,600 stores nationwide.

This country is great because the free flow of opinions is at the cornerstone. Regardless of what you believe, you have the right to speak your mind and we give you an outlet to do that.

We find the calls to ban the restaurants from certain cities because of Cathy’s statement flies in the face of freedom of speech.

We must remember that freedom of speech cannot be stricken just because one disagrees with a statement, and anyone with an offensive opinion must prepare for a backlash.