The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

Maybe Chik-fil-A thought no one would notice the hate that's being spread in an out of the way place like Montana. Maybe they thought no one would care and a nasty little religious group would rake in some serious cash to spread lies and intolerance.

I hope they're wrong.

Brought to Billings by The Montana Family Foundation, trucked in Chick-fil-A lunches will be served in a drive-thru fundraiser:

Calling it an opportunity to support traditional family values the Montana Family Foundation will open a Chick-fil-A drive through in Billings for one day in September. The chicken will be available for one day only in Billings' west end on Saturday, September 8th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This one-day drive-thru event is called Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day 2.0.

For a suggested donation of $20 per person the public is invited to attend this fund-raising event where hot Chick-fil-A chicken, coleslaw and chocolate chip cookies will be available to the first 1000 people.

Jeff Laszloffy, President/CEO of the Montana Family Foundation said, "A majority of the citizens of Montana share the same conservative values as Dan Cathy and solidified them as the law in 2004 when Montana voted to amend its Constitution to define marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman in this state."

"Since Chick-fil-A doesn't yet have locations in our state most Montanan's were unable to participate in the national event in August. So we created Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day 2.0 on Saturday, September 8th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and invite the Treasure State to join the celebration and help support the Montana Family Foundation's efforts."

Notice the word "efforts". But at what, exactly?

Laszloffy wouldn't dare talk about the MFF's work in Montana as hate-based, but a few brief highlights tell the truth about Laszloffy- and his foundation:

The Montana Family Foundation:

• promoted a speaker who compared Obama to Hitler
• surveyed Montana candidates with one of the most polarizing forms ever
• used a podcast to personally attack a Montana lobbyist- advocating "harsh" judgment
• and takes every opportunity to inaccurately slander LGBT people- even unfortunate ones.

Laszloffy and his ilk are, unfortunately, highly organized and deeply entrenched in many communities in rural America - they're also very well funded from fundamentalist and Christianist groups from across the country - and around the world.

Amazing how people pony up for the chance to smack some gays around in the name of religion, isn't it?

Fortunately, there are groups of people in Montana who publicly oppose the kind of bullying and hate-mongering that the Montana Family Foundation espouses - and they've organized a Counter-Rally, Fairness For ALL Families. From their Facebook event page:

Fairness for ALL families is important in Montana. If you would like to show your support for equality and fair treatment for ALL Montana families and declare that LOVE is the most traditional family value, please join us in Billings for an Fairness Rally on Saturday, September 8. Details are being worked out so check back for the specifics!

If you cannot join us, please consider donating to the following organizations that work every day to support all families and protect them from discrimination against LGBT couples and their children:

• You can sign a statement of support with Fair is Fair Montana
• or DONATE to our LGBT work
• You can donate to the Montana Human Rights Network's Equality Project
• You can donate to the Pride Foundation
• You can donate to Not In Our Town Billings

And, just as effectively, you can spread the word. Share this article - tell your friends and neighbors. Share the Facebook event page. Let them know that we see them coming.

This Christian "smacking of the gays" is not cool, it's not Christian, and we're not going to take it - even in out of the way places like Montana.