Government officials threatening to ban Chick-fil-A aren't liberals...they're idiots
Government officials threatening to ban Chick-fil-A aren't liberals...they're idiots
When it comes to gay rights and Chick-fill-A, there are a couple of things that are really important. Does the national chain of chicken restaurants serve gay customers and treat them equally as it does heterosexual customers? Does it discriminate against gay men or women seeking to work there. If so, Chick-fil-A would be not just acting immorally but violating the law (in most places, anyway) and there should be serious repercussions.
To my knowledge, Chick-fil-A is not accused of those things. It's in the news because its fundamentalist Christian president Dan Cathy said this:
Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. “Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy when asked about this opposition.
“We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
“We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families – some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized.
“We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
So...the president of Chick-fil-A doesn't support gay marriage? Neither does Hillary Clinton, at least not publicly. And until a few months ago, neither did President Obama. I strongly disagree with Cathy's views on same-sex marriage, but I support his right to speak freely, just as I support anyone exercising their own right of free speech by a) criticizing Cathy and b) not eating at Chick-fil-A (Hint: The "Southern-style" chicken sandwich at McDonald's is EXACTLY THE SAME THING...just sayin').
But there are some idiots -- actually, government officials (often synonymous) -- who can't leave things at that. They include the Democratic mayors of three major U.S. cities -- Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco -- and a Chicago alderman, who've threatened to take various kinds of government actions against Chick-fil-A -- such as denying permits -- because of its owners' viewpoints. That's a textbook violation of the First Amendment. As the ACLU and some of the better progressive writers around have noted, such threats are not liberalism. They are a gross disservice to the real and important fight for gay riights. And they smack of totalitarianism. Theys need to stop -- immediately
Just as right-wing conservatives cater to their base by criticizing gay marriage, so do ultral-left liberals cater to theirs by criticizing any who express their opinion opposing gay marriage. As long as opinions don't become actual discrimination examples, all have the right to express their opinions and beliefs.— lport- I have to give credit where it's due. Will is spot on with this post. It's a great defense of freedom. Thanks.
— jmc - Agree JMC...Mr. Bunch hit this one out of the park — Gray Areas
- Democrat boycott of Chick Fil A is just a precursor to their boycott of the polls in November. The left is demoralized by inept Democrat "leadership", and the right is energized by the prospect of throwing the incumbents out.— Mr. Smith
- I have said it before and will again:
Two dogs copulating on my lawn--I spray them with my garden hose.
Two gays copulating on my lawn--I spray them with my garden hose.
Two straights copulating on my lawn--I spray them with my garden hose.
GET OFF OF MY LAWN!!!
Other than that, what two consenting adults do in the privacy of each other's presence is fine with me.
Soon to be OrvalEugeneFaubus (a "stand up" Democrat), aka...— Bucks County Mike 
Comment removed.- Exactly, Will. However I must disagree on the McDonald's part. I worked in fast food in my past and have tried many a different product. The Chick-fil-a chicken products are simply superior to the McD's stuff. As a recovering fast food addict I can proudly say I never crave for a McD's chicken product. But Chick-fil-a is a weak spot. It just tastes better. Perhaps that's why the franchisee in the NYT article you cited got the 50 half eaten sandwiches that day.— bstew74
- I just don't understand people who insist that they are progressive or liberal and are so intolerant. These crypto-fascists believe inm freedom of speech as long as it agrees with their speech codes. The same thing applies to affirmative action and their definition of minorities. Asians are often hurt by affirmative action even though they area minority because so many Asians excel in academics. When this happens, the so-called liberals forget about affirmative action and demand diversity.
Actually, what the government officials who support sanctions agains chic-fil-A are doing is show everybody what a bunch of hypocritical oportunists they are as well as law-breakers.— Drumgoole - Rufus I have to know, by all means -- where did you go to college? I have to know what bastion of higher learning counts you as having attended/graduated.— Murrayman
- I banned the place years ago ... because the food was disgusting. So some of our pols have nothing bigger to worry about than the big bad chick fil? Bad joke at best.— Tkat
- Locally, Councilman Jim Kenney falls into the Totalitarian catagory. In a national interview yesterday he bashed Mr. Cathy and his business - insisting he was simply helping to "inform" potential Chic-Fil-A customers of the restaurants' bigoted opinions. Is that really what an elected officials job is? To me, it sounded like a thinly veiled threat. Government officials threatening individuals for having thoughts and opinions is wrong... and, for once, I agree with you, Will.— michael_b
- McD's chicken sandwich does not compare to Chik-fil-a's. The spicy one is to die for. And whoever boycotts CFA is probably exercising selective outrage.— palmyra21
- Comment removed.
- No way you went to a selective university. Its funny how the notion is intolerance, etc. When two people aren't able to get married, it significantly negatively impacts their ability to have benefits conferred, wills and testaments, etc. This is what I've been told anyhow. Think what you want. If you want to live fearfully by some old book, literally, and pray to a god without when you need help ("Oh please god -- if you're listening -- help me") then so be it.— Murrayman
- Cathy has the right to run his mouth, and people have the right to complain/boycott about it. What's the big deal?— SteveMG
- Andrew Sullivan
- Blinq
- Blogorrhea
- Blonde Sagacity
- Free Republic
- Instapundit
- James Taranto
- ScrappleFace
- The Corner
- Buzzmachine
- Eat the Press
- Editor and Publisher
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Media Bloodhound
- Mickey Kaus
- Pressthink
- Romenesko
- The Inksniffer
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Above Average Jane
- BlankBaby
- Citizen Mom
- Keystone Blog
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- Phawker
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Philly Future
- Phillyblog
- Phillyist
- The Clog
- The Next Mayor
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Young Philly Politics
- Afro-Netizen
- All-Spin Zone
- Atrios
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- Booman Tribune
- CorrenteWire
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- iFlipFlop
- Kiko's House
- MyDD
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Rowhouse Logic
- Slacktivist
- Suburban Guerilla
- Tattered Coat
- upyernoz
- AmericaBlog
- Andy Borowitz
- BuzzFlash
- Crooks and Liars
- Cursor
- Daily Kos
- David Sirota
- Drudge Report
- Echidne of the Snakes
- Fire Dog Lake
- Glenn Greenwald
- Hullabaloo
- Jesus' General
- Jon Swift
- Josh Marshall
- Juan Cole
- Kevin Drum
- Mad Kane
- Majikthise
- Matthew Yglesias
- Oliver Willis
- Raw Story
- Swing State Project
- Talk Left
- Taylor Marsh
- TBogg
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Think Progress
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- A Citizen's Blog
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Beer Leaguer
- Dick Polman
- Phillies Nation
- Philling Station
- Shallow Center
- The 700 Level
- The Good Phight
