NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
A small group of people, many of them students at Austin Peay State University, gathered outside the Chick-fil-A on Madison Street in Clarksville to protest Friday.
"The reason we're out here today is in response to August 1," said Ryan Whipkey, a student at APSU and also the president of the school's Gay Straight Alliance.
Whipkey added, "There were more people here on Wednesday, but that's because they were able to drop by and just get food and leave. People here are actually committing their time. A lot of people, including me, have actually called out of work to do this."
Protestors held up signs that said, "Support Love," "Don't be a Chicken, Boycott Hate," and "Nothing Tastes Better Than Tolerance."
Travis Kendrick was one of the protesters.
"I'm gay and I want to get married some day to a guy, and I want to have a child or children," he said, adding, "I'm making sure my money doesn't go somewhere I don't want it to."
Whipkey said their group is disappointed people would buy food from a company, who he said, spends millions of dollars supporting organizations that are anti-gay marriage.
"What they were coming out here to do was give more money to an organization, or public company that gives money to organizations that purely do hate speech," Whipkey told Nashville's News 2.
For many, the protest was a chance to memorialize loved ones who took their own lives because of bullying, rather than a direct response to the owner of Chick-fil-A's comments against gay marriage.
"I love people and I love people being able to express what they want to," said Erin Kepis, "so I think that's a main thing for today."
The protesters didn't go inside the restaurant and planned to stay on the sidewalk.
Chick-fil-A employees came outside and offered the group free drinks and some people stopped by to give them hugs.
Chick-fil-A released a statement saying, "No matter a customer's reason for visiting our restaurants, we are always eager to serve them by providing great food and genuine hospitality."
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