Chicken sandwich restaurant Chick-Fil-A has become the center of controversy after the company president affirmed that the chain opposed gay marriage. President Dan Cathy said the company was "guilty as charged" and in fact was against same sex marriage.
On a radio program in Atlanta, 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.'”
These statements have provoked reactions from mayors of cities across the country, denouncing the company for discriminatory views. Mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco have all made negative comments about Chick-Fil-A, saying their cities have no place for a company with such values. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote a letter to Cathy:
We are indeed full of pride for our support of same sex marriage and our work to expand freedom to all people. We are proud that our state and our city have led the way for the country on equal marriage rights.
I was angry to learn on the heels of your prejudiced statements about your search for a site to locate in Boston. There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.
[See a collection of political cartoons on gay marriage.]
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, however, said that government entities shouldn't be commenting on companies who publicize their stance on topics like gay marriage. Cities, he said, shouldn't "look at somebody's political views and decide whether or not they can live in the city, or operate a business in the city, or work for somebody in the city."
He went on to say, "[T]rampling on the freedom to marry whoever you want is exactly the same as trampling on your freedom to open a store."
Bloomberg himself is progay marriage, playing a heavy hand in New York City's gay marriage legalization a year ago.
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