"I'm not really a fighter," Marci Alt says from her office in Atlanta, Georgia. "I would rather have a conversation."

Alt is 47 and married to her partner of 12 years, Marlysa. They're mothers to a 2-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl. And they've decided to invite Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy to dinner.

"I probably have the exact same kind of family values that he has," Alt said. "He just doesn't think I deserve to have the same rights that he has."

Chick-fil-A has long been criticized for opposing same-sex marriage, but the outrage escalated in July, when Equality Matters reported that the company donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010. Cathy responded to the criticism later that month in Baptist Press: "Well, guilty as charged ... We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit."

On Wednesday, thousands celebrated "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," a Mike Huckabee-invented holiday that encouraged people to eat at the chain to support the owners' right to voice their anti-gay marriage stance. Many supporters were met with protesters waving picket signs and chanting about how equality is more important than chicken sandwiches.

Instead of joining the picketers, Alt, who runs the Gay Community Yellow Pages, launched a Change.org petition turned dinner invite to get Cathy's attention. She wants the COO to see their families' similarities — to meet her loving wife, her bumbling toddler, and her little girl who competes in gymnastics and cheerleading.