Could Cities Really Block Chick-fil-A Based on Executive's Views on Same-Sex Marriage?
Politicians, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, are reacting to comments Chick-fil-A’s president Dan Cathy made about same-sex marriage.
Cathy said, “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit.” In a radio interview, Cathy said, “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say ‘we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage and I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”
The comments sparked reaction from Emanuel, who threatened to block the opening of two news Chick-fil-A venues in Chicago. Emanuel said, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members. And if you are going to be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect the Chicago values.”
In reaction, Chick-fil-A released a statement, reading, “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 … Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
So, could Chick-fil-A be banned from Chicago based on Cathy’s views on same-sex marriage?
Ford O’Connell weighed in on America’s Newsroom, saying, “Rahm Emanuel is conflating the law with liberal outrage. Dan Cathy’s views are basically irrelevant under the First Amendment, so unless Chick-fil-A is engaged in the discrimination in hiring or the discrimination of public accommodation of its customers, it’s going to be real hard because all he’s really doing is flapping his wings.”
Chris Hahn agreed, saying, “The public has the right to say, ‘Look, this guy’s spending the money we spent at Chick-fil-A on a cause we don’t agree with, so we’re not going to shop there. We’re not going to eat there, we’re going to go somewhere else.’”
