Boston mayor to anti-gay-marriage Chick-fil-A: stay away

Boston mayor to anti-gay-marriage Chick-fil-A: stay away



By Ros Krasny
BOSTON | Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:34pm EDT

(Reuters) - Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has waded into the national controversy surrounding fast food chain Chick-fil-A, whose president has publicly opposed same-sex marriage, urging the chicken sandwich sellers to stay out of Boston.

Even as the chain took heat from Menino, gay rights activists and even the Muppets, conservative politicians, including former Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, pushed back.

A letter from Mayor Menino derided Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy for recent "prejudiced statements" against same-sex marriage, which has been legal in Massachusetts since 2004.

Posted on a Boston community page on the social media site Facebook on Wednesday, the letter has gone viral. It has been "liked" by more than 131,000 users and shared more than 46,000 times.

"In recent days you said Chick-fil-A opposes same-sex marriage, and said the generation that supports it has an 'arrogant attitude,'" Menino wrote in the letter, dated July 20 and addressed to Cathy at Chick-fil-A's Atlanta headquarters.

"Now - incredibly - your company says you are backing out of the same-sex marriage debate. I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston."

The fast-food company has reportedly been shopping for sites in downtown Boston, including spots along the city's well-known Freedom Trail, a pathway that winds past many of the city's Revolutionary War landmarks, and even within sight of Menino's City Hall office.

Menino, noting that some of the first same-sex couples to wed in the country came to the Boston City Hall to get married, said: "It would be an insult to them and to our city's long history of expanding freedom, to have a Chick-fil-A across the street from that spot."

Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Menino's letter or its plans for Boston.

Last week, the chain said its culture is "to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect - regardless of their belief, creed, race, sexual orientation or gender."

The Chick-fil-A controversy hit the headlines after Cathy's comments to the Baptist Press citing "prideful" supporters of same-sex marriage and defending the company's support of "the biblical definition of the family unit."

KISS-IN PLANNED

Same-sex couples around the country plan a kiss-in at Chick-fil-A restaurants on August 3.

The Jim Henson Company, whose Muppet characters like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are hugely popular, announced it will no longer work with the chain.

It said it will donate a payment received from a promotion with Chick-fil-A - which featured "Jim Henson Creature Shop Puppets" in kids' meals - to the gay rights group GLAAD.

Santorum, known for his opposition to same-sex marriage, struck back by suggesting a counter-protest.

"Simply have a meal at Chick-fil-A on August 1 for ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day' and our support for traditional values will be heard loud and clear," Santorum, a former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, wrote in an email to supporters.

Privately held Chick-fil-A was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy, a devout Southern Baptist who is still the company's chairman. The company is known for its mix of religion and business as well as its fried chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.

The company's website says that Dan Cathy, the founder's son, is driven by a "personal passion" to see the fulfillment of Chick-fil-A's corporate purpose: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us."

All of Chick-fil-A's roughly 1,600 locations - including two outlets in suburban Boston shopping malls - are closed on Sundays, Christmas and Thanksgiving.

wants2laugh wrote:... Let them build in Boston. If Bostonians are offended, they will not frequent the establishment, and will close. If bostonians are not offended, then the business will not be affected.

femme fatale wrote:I'm not gonna pretend to know the law but wouldn't it be a violation of some kind? If people dont like CFA's politics they're free to not eat there.

wants2laugh wrote:The "Kiss in" is ridiculous though in my opinion. If they are not buying anything, but sitting in the chairs (or even on the property) then the prostestors are loitering and should be kicked out. Not to mention the fact that I don't want to seee anyone kissing public---gay or straight.

femme fatale wrote:The bill of rights is so outdated anymore--- if you are not totally PC, then you are evil. From my understanding, CFA is a privately owned company, not a publicly traded one. Therefore what the owner wants/does is his right. If patrons do not like it, do not go there.

Shale wrote:



That is true. There is nothing a government official or office can do to prevent their opening a business. The mayor was just giving his opinion as a representative of the ppl. If it was not an accurate representation, the ppl of Boston have a chance to get rid of him. If it was an accurate representation then the ppl of Boston can by the same method get rid of Chick-fil-A.



I wasn't aware they were going to do the Kiss-In on premises. I thot it was going to be staged on the public thorofare. I don't think they would attempt that because it would be trespassing and the protest would quiclky move to lockup.

BTW, if you don't want to see anyone kissing in public you have the right to look somewhere else.



Don't try to blame the abuses of PC on the Bill of Rights, which is needed now as much as it ever has been. It is not outdated and has helped secure equal rights for a number of disenfranchised groups in the past, including blacks & women. Not every minority has equal rights to this day - so good thing we still have the Bill of Rights.

CeCe wrote:

wants2laugh wrote:I was being sarcastic that the BOR was outdated. I just hate the fact that people use it for one side and not the other. If the mayor has the right to say something, that is one thing, that is his opinion. But does the mayor have to the right to prevent jobs from being created? To prevent industry from growing? Chick Fil A draws a lot of traffic in (the same as walmart). We have 2 in my area and you must wait atleast 20 min in line at the drive thru as the line often goes around the block--no matter what time you go there. If someone is being drawn to the area specifically for the Chick Fil A, they may often stop off at the businesses surrounding it, which promotes commerce.

The thing is that Chick fil A did not discriminate against anyone. I didn't see an article where it said "Chain refuses to serve gay couple" or "Chain fired man for marrying his partner". IF that happened, I would be all for this hoopla. But from what i can see that did not happen.

Chick Fil A has not violated anyone's rights. The founder has just expressed his own opinion. The mayor also has a right to express his own opinion... but going to the point where the mayor prevents a business from entering a city? A business that could help the community and will be paying taxes... that just seems extreme. And it also appears that the mayor could be violating the rights of those people who would want to frequent the establishment.

This is not the same as putting a porn theater near a school or something.

wants2laugh wrote:I think the controversy is causing the opposite of its goal. The restaurants here are getting busier and busier, and people are saying exactly what NY and I have said. They are supporting CFA's owners rights to think what he wants.

Forgiveness Man wrote:So now if a town's mayor doesn't agree with what a company's president believes, he can keep them out. Talk about bigotry. lol

Forgiveness Man wrote:But mayors shouldn't be able to tell a company that they can't expand into their city unless they conform their politics to what the mayor believes.

Forgiveness Man wrote:Chick-Fil-A doesn't turn people away,

Forgiveness Man wrote:and yet these politicians are. Seems to me that the politicians are the intolerant ones.

captainbryce wrote:I find it Ironic how many of the people who support Chick-Fil-A's "right" to build their establishments wherever they want, and the Chick-Fil-A president's "right" to say what he wants about gays, are pretty much the same demographic that were totally against the building of an Islamic community center near ground zero. It's funny how these "rights" and "freedoms" only seem to apply when they concern a group that publicly declares their bigotry openly (homophobes), but are conveniently ignored when it comes to groups that these hypocrites practice their own bigotry against (Muslims). Essentially, homophobes are true "Americans" and they are entitled to "freedom" but Muslims are terrorists are aren't entitled to jack shit!

captainbryce wrote:A) that's NOT what bigotry means (for the umpteenth time)

Tony Marino wrote:And the band played on.............