Gay rights activists responded to the controversy surrounding Chick-fil-A’s stance on same sex marriage yesterday by hosting a “Kiss-Day” in front of the chicken-themed restaurants across the country.

Carly McGhee, the organizer of “National Same Sex Kiss In Day,” told WJLA that the event was “a way to show Chick-Fil-A and the rest of the country that our love is just as good as heterosexual love.”

Smooching same sex couples were found outside and inside the fast food outlets in several locations such as in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Brandywine, Ill, Pompano Beach, Fla., and Richmond, Va., according to Huffington Post photos and ones submitted photos to the event’s Facebook page.

The couple above took part in the kissing session at the Silver Spring location, as captured by photographer Elvert Barnes.

The event sprouted in response to last Wednesday’s unofficial Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, in which supporters rallied behind company president Dan Cathy’s definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.