Long lines and hot debate at Southwest Florida Chick-Fil-A restaurants

Supporters of company owner show up en masse

CREATED Aug. 1, 2012 - UPDATED: Aug. 1, 2012

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  • Opponents of gay marriage show up to support Chick-Fil-A's owner who shares their view. Video by fox4now.com

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 CAPE CORAL, Fla. - The lines at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Pine Island road were something most customers have never seen before.

The line snaked from the registers inside, out the door and around the building.

The drive-thru window was just as busy and the line was just as long.

Many customers say they came as part of what's being called "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day."

Former Arkansas governor turned media personality Mike Huckabee has been calling on people to show up at Chick-Fil-A restaurants today to show support for company president, Dan Cathy.

Cathy told the Baptist Press last month that the Atlanta-based company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." 

"I'm letting people know where I stand on gay marriage," said Southwest Floridian Bob Kelly, who showed up at the franchise on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral.

Like a lot of people, Kelly has been reading a lot about the debate on Facebook and says not all his friends share his view.  

"I got into a discussion on Facebook with a friend and said should I un-friend you because I don't like your views?

But it's more than Chick-Fil-A's views that are up for debate. It's about the owners' actions.

Cathy and the other owners of the private company have donated millions from the chain to anti-gay groups who leading the legal fight to keep gay couples from getting married.

Many of those who showed up at the restaurant in Cape Coral said they're OK with that.

"It's their priviledge," one customer said about the owners.

Many said, in their view, it's not about the civil right of marriage, but rather about their religious beliefs.

"I have friends that are gay," said Kelly.

"But that doesn't mean I have to support their marriage."

Opponents of Cathy's stance have planned "Kiss Mor Chiks" for Friday, asking people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A locations and kiss each other.