Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are encouraging people to eat at Chick-Fil-A today to show support for the chain. The two former Republican U.S. presidential candidates claim that those who support what they have dubbed "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," would be spreading a message about "traditional values" by eating a meal at one of the privately owned chain's more than 1,600 locations.

"The goal is simple: Lets affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executive are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating Chick-fil-A," Huckabee a former Arkansas governor and current Fox News Channel personality, said on his website.

Supporters of Gay marriage have responded by calling for a boycott of the chain and seeking to block new Chick-fil-A outlets from opening.

Same-sex couples around the country plan a kiss-in at Chick-fil-A.

The absence of customers was so severe in the company's corporate hometown of Atlanta; employees began to direct traffic in the parking lot to pass the time

New Hampshire's only Chick-fil-A franchise responded to the controversy by becoming a sponsor of the state's gay pride festival being held on August 11.

Chick-fil-A, known for its chicken sandwiches and waffle fries and for being closed on Sundays, came under fire after its president, Dan Cathy, told an online religious newspaper that he supports "the biblical definition of the family unit" and that supporters of gay marriage were "arrogant."