Zachary: A’right, it’s already 3 August here in Glasgow, so we’ll post this now for our American friends. Enjoy!

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So my best mate Martin and I are more than a wee bit dischuffed at the controversy in the States over Chick Fil-A and its funding of harmful anti-gay organisations. Groups like Exodus International (an “ex-gay ministry”) and the Family Research Council (listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) do more than simply “hold religious beliefs”. They cause real pain to real people.

And semi-fictional people like us.

Martin: Aye. And on 1 August, Chick Fil-A supporters flocked (heh) to queue up to show pride in their prejudice. (Kinda like the Glaswegians who crowd the pavements to cheer sectarian parades, while we clever yins stay indoors and play video games.)

(Source: BusinessInsider.com)

“Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day” produced a lot of photos and quotes and even a song that broke my heart. I’d no idea how much I was hated.

Well, I’d some idea. Though Scotland’s fairly progressive—we’re passing a marriage equality bill soon—I’m a working-class Catholic lad. When I came out last year at 18, my parents “suggested” I find another place to live or start paying rent, as if I’d suddenly become a stranger in their home. I’ve two sets of friends: the lads I go to pubs with (including Zachary) and the lads I go to clubs with (including Zachary). They’ve no interest in mingling.

But this post isn’t about me. It’s about National Same-Sex Kiss Day, an event organized at the grass-roots and supported by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) long before yesterday’s Stuff Yer Faces With Crap Day.

Zachary: From the event’s Facebook page:

National Same Sex Kiss Day is this Friday, August 3rd at a Chick-fil-A near you! Head to your local Chick-fil-A and share a kiss with your sweetie. Let’s show Chick-fil-A that EVERYONE deserves to be able to fall in love, start a family, and take their children to eat fried chicken after a soccer match. ;)

Martin tweeted me the link with a “How ‘bout it, then?” Meaning, would I kiss him at a Chick Fil-A to promote love over hate?

I was willing, though Martin’s technically not my “sweetie”—that would be a certain lass named Aura. But we’ve no Chick Fil-A’s here in Glasgow.

What we DO have is Adobe Fireworks. 

Martin: So we found a photo inside a Chick Fil-A, with some random het couple:

(Source: Twitter, via Los Angeles Times article)

Zachary: Then we kissed. It was alright.

Martin: We kissed in black & white, for maximum tastefullness (and tastiness-sorry, Zach, couldnae resist).

(Source: My NEW favourite tumblr, which I cannae link to, cos it’s Not Safe For Work, and anyway, that tumblr failed to credit the photo, so let’s just say it’s us and be done with it, aye?)

Zachary: Then, Fireworks occurred (Adobe Fireworks, not—well, you know):

^^^Martin and myself, kissing in Chick Fil-A. Nae animals were harmed in the making of this moment, cos we didn’t buy any chicken.

If you do the same as us in real life on Friday, 3 August, please tweet us @moore_zachary and/or @connelly_martin and we’ll try tae share here on the SHADEboys tumblr. You can also submit photos and text to the NSSKD tumblr so they can post it and know of yer support! 

And of course, if you like this post, please share it any way you can.

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No one expects National Same-Sex Kiss Day to be as popular as Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day. After all, it takes a lot more courage to show affection condemned by numpties than it does to eat a sandwich you already wanted in the first place.

But each wee brave act makes a statement. It says there’s no shame in love, no matter the gender of the one it finds a home in. If a simple public embrace makes a single LGBT teen feel less alone in this world, then it’s worth a million waffle fries.

To paraphrase a great American hero,

Posted by: Zachary and Martin

PS from Zachary: If you worry Aura might be jealous, don’t. She was the one took the picture.

PPS from Martin: You mean, pictureS. She was like, “Oops, that was blurry. Do it again”, then “Oops, I had my finger over the lens. Do it again”. Cheeky minx, so she is.