Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy sparked a social media firestorm among gay marriage supporters and opponents after taking a public stance on the divisive issue this week.

Speaking to Christian news site Baptist Press, Cathy called Chick-Fil-A "guilty as charged" in response to past criticism of its position on same-sex marriage; he said the company is "very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit."

Cathy later added: "We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Many customers and offended observers took to Twitter to blast the chicken sandwich fast food chain. Online cooking show host Hilah Johnson posted a YouTube video on how to make a homemade "Chick-Fil-Gay" sandwich and avoid shopping at the chain. Actor Ed Helms of The Office and The Hangover tweeted that he would begin a boycott:

Chick-Fil-A then used its Facebook Page on Thursday to respond to the criticism.

"The Chick-Fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender," read a post that received more than 47,000 Likes and 10,000 comments in a matter of hours. "Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena."

While some of the Facebook comments were critical, many backed up Cathy's comments against gay marriage or deemed the issue irrelevant to where they'd spend their money.

Chick-Fil-A isn't the first food company to wade into gay rights issues on social media. On the other side of the debate, Oreo posted a pro-gay rights message to its Facebook Page last month and drew a massive — if mixed — response.

If a brand you like takes a public stand on gay marriage via social media — pro or con — does that affect your loyalty to it? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, rhythmbehavior