By Trudy Ring

Originally published on Advocate.com August 24 2012 3:42 PM ET

To Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan, Chick-fil-A means not only “good chicken” but also free speech.

Reporter Orlando Salinas of TV station WDBJ in Roanoke, Va., played a bit of word association with Ryan during an interview that aired yesterday. When Salinas said, “Chick-fil-A,” Ryan replied, “Good chicken. Good chicken. Free people exercising their free speech rights.”

As LGBT rights advocates have pointed out, though, the outrage against Chick-fil-A isn’t just about company executives’ statements opposing marriage equality — it’s also about the fact that Chick-fil-A has donated millions of dollars to groups seeking to deny rights to LGBT people.

Watch the interview here.