UPDATE (KYTX)-- As the day continued, so did massive crowds inside and outside Chick-fil-As across East Texas.
Lee Childers could have had lunch anywhere, but today wasn't about the food. "I wouldn't stand in this line for any other reason like this, it's too hot," the supporter said.
But it was a wait worthwhile for Angie Rushing, who wanted to make a statement more than she wanted her salad. "I'm for marriage between man and woman, so I'm here to show my appreciation and I think everyone should come out too," Rushing said.
The controversy started with the company's CEO Dan Cathy making public comments that he supports the "biblical definition of the family unit."
Since then, it's divided people."I thought that was very ignorant of him to be so close-minded," Adrien Grimm, a gay teen in Longview, said.
Russell Montgomery supports Chick-fil-A's position. "I appreciate the fact that some people don't agree with it, but I also think that the majority is showing what we truly believe, and that's traditional values," he said.
Members of P-Flag, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, came to the location in Longview off 281 and Gilmer. "If nothing else, we're hoping it will open a discussion. I don't think we're going to change people's minds who have come here to CFA to support them," Hollis Pugsley, the mother of Adrien, said.
Grimm organized the rally. "We're here empowering ourselves and that makes other people feel empowered too and it makes the gay community here visible," she said.
North-bound lanes of South Broadway in Tyler were closed at one point, due to all the traffic.
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TYLER (KYTX) -- As early as 11:00 Wednesday morning, both Chick-Fil-A locations in Tyler were busting at the seams with people supporting the private company's right to voice its anti-gay marriage views.
Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy told a religious publication in July that he was "guilty as charged" when it came to rumors of his stance on gay marriage.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee called for August 1st to be Chick-Fil-A appreciation day, leading thousands of people nationwide to flock to the restaurant.
In Tyler, that led to lines that extended out the doors of both locations and moderate traffic problems on South Broadway and Troup Highway due to the volume of cars trying to reach the restaurants.
A protest against the company's gay marriage stance was underway as of mid-day Wednesday at the Chick-Fil-A on Loop 281 in Longview.
A line of cars extends from the Chick-Fil-A parking lot in to the north bound side of Troup Highway.
People lined up out the doors of the Troup Highway location.
A view inside the packed Troup Highway location.
Inside the South Broadway location.
