.

See T-Paw, as an American, it is my right to take MY business where I see fit!

and/or stand in front of their restaurant with a protest sign, if I feel the need to.

I don't agree with Chick Fil a on their stance but the various goverrnments taking the aggressive reaction is wrong IMHO. Speak with your feet, if they want to invest in Chicago and risk a backlash so be it but let us decide. I do love their lemonade but it sort of feels jim crowish now...

This is just more hypocrisy from the rightwing. If corporations are people, you can't have it both ways in regard to free speech. If I get involved in politics, donating to a campaign or what have you, it is on record. I have ZERO tolerance for companies or business owners (often cranky gazillionaires like Sheldon Adelson, Foster Freiss, etc.) that want to game the political system in their favor, but think they should be able to do so in secret and without repercussions.

Here's an excellent example. I never put bumper stickers on my vehicle, or any other indication of my political or religious views because I don't want to risk loss of business from clients who may see the bumper sticker, or disagree with something I may inadvertently say. Chick-Fil-A should NOT be any different.

That's what free speech is. Chick-Fil-A can take a political position, and consumers have the right to boycott them. And even then it's not a fair match--we saw this with Limbaugh and what it would take to actually throw him off the air. But free speech applies to EVERYONE, not a privileged few.

soundbite_monopoly -- Voters can't "speak with their feet" unless there is transparency. The Teapublicans just blocked the bill to require transparency of SuperPAC donors, heck even blunders that Mr. Secret Romney refuses to reveal. Throw the Teapublicans out -- they are trying to destroy our country in so many ways, most of all democracy.

If anyone wants to boycott Chick-Fil-A based on their religious or political stand, it's clearly their right to do so. What's chilling is this idea that the government has the right to shut down businesses (and indirectly suppress the free speech) of private citizens, based on their religious or political point of view.

STexan, perhaps you have missed how the company has donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010 alone. That is the chain being involved directly into anti-gay views. So who is ignorant now?

What's chilling is this idea that the government has the right to shut down businesses (and indirectly suppress the free speech) of private citizens, based on their religious or political point of view.

Uh...so tell me again...how many Chick-Fil-A's have been closed since this whole "fiasco" started?

Screw the mayors of Boston and New York and their ilk.....and the arrogant gay rights minority. I don't care if you scream until you're red in the face, the rest of us (the majority, by the way) simply don't have to swallow your agenda. You can go do what you want with each other in bed, but get the strong-arm "rights" crap out of my face.

Ah...okay, so you don't have to "swallow" (interesting choice of words) their agenda but they have to "swallow" your agenda?

John.Galt: "What's chilling is this idea that the government has the right to shut down businesses (and indirectly suppress the free speech) of private citizens"

Where in the article does it mention ANY existing Chick-Fil-A's being shut down by ANY government anywhere? Where is the "police power of government intimidating and threatening people" that Pawlenty claims?

All I see is: "Several elected officials, including the mayor of Boston, have said that they will discourage the opening of new Chick-Fil-A franchises."

If you have a link that shows that any Chick-Fil-A franchise has in fact been closed down by the government, please post it. If not, then please stop over-reacting like Pawlenty is.

Why does that matter?

I'm sorry...did you or did you not say the following:

What's chilling is this idea that the government has the right to shut down businesses (and indirectly suppress the free speech) of private citizens, based on their religious or political point of view.

I guess I'll have to rephrase the question...how many Chick-Fil-As has the government forced out of business since this began?

Honest question, why are you so dumb? So glad to be a Canadian.

Fiesty Homosexuals aren't allowed to give blood. I guess if you ever get into a serious accident and need a blood transfusion you better have an alert ID bracelet saying "No Blood Transfusions" because of those homophobic, gay hating rules not allowing homosexuals to give blood to protect the blood supply.

To whom are you addressing Bill from Canada?

noid, you don't have a problem with any City official threatening private entities because of their completely legal beliefs?

Better be careful or some mayor may refuse to let someone build a mosque someplace cuz they don't like muslims.

No one is going to answer your straw man.

Come on noid, you're better than that.

Aren't you?

God is so mad at the way Chick-fil-a is using His name that he recalled their spokesman.

Nothing really surprises me when the GOP is victimizing a section of minorities, this time the gays and lesbians community. In today's world, only the US Republican party is proud of its track record of bullying minorities, and actually counts such bullying as its achievement.

But karma works...GOP has outlawed itself politics.

Dark Shadow,

Perhaps you missed the point that a mayor of a major city got on national TV and told a business they are not welcome there because their morals don't agree with his.

If the case were reversed and a conservative mayor told a company, perhaps Amazon, who donated money to a cause he disagreed with. or a Muslim company that donated to a mosque that supports sharia law and the mistreatment of women, that because their morals didn't agree with his, they were not welcome there? Would you think they were overstepping their bounds?

There is something in the constitution about freedom of religion, isn't there? Rahm McCarthy's actions are teetering dangerously close to state sanctioned religion -- live by our my morals, or get out of town.

Nobody is acting against ChickFila because nof their beliefs, but their actions. Chickfila has ACTED to deny homosexuals equal rights. I applaud our politicians' actions against Chickfila. And all of you righties crying about free speech and the Constitution- we listened to your claiming knowledge of Constitutional Law for endless months leading up to your slap-down by the Supreme Court. You don't know the Constitution from a hole in the ground. Please don't bore us with your know-nothing rantings about what is, and isn't constitutional. Your ignorance has been well proven. Maybe "Mitt the Twit" will listen.

These two Mayors are idiots. If a man doesn't personally believe that Gays should have the right to marry, that is his right no matter how many shriek that they should.

My take is that because the man in question happens to be the CEO of chick fil a this somehow means that the COMPANY doesn't support it? As long as the COMPANY does not descriminate against gays when hiring or screen gays from eating there I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with the CEO having personal beliefs!

I am troubled that two public figures would take such a stance.....I also seriously doubt that the majority of voters in those two cities feel the same way as them.

Damn...now I am hungry and thankfully there is a chick fil a right down the street! Yumm....good fries too.

noid, you don't have a problem with any City official threatening private entities because of their completely legal beliefs?

Did Mayor Menino go a step to far in saying, in essence, we'll make it difficult for you to open here?

Yes.

What I am challenging here, however, is a statement by "John.Galt" that would essentially have you believe that government officials have closed down Chick-Fil-A establishments becuase of this issue.

from the news: "Pawlenty noted said that he had sampled Chick-Fil-A's products for lunch earlier Saturday. "It was awesome."

Pawlenty of Folly didn't know that piece of chicken he tasted turned out to be from a gay chicken.

Now he is Pawlenty the Cannibal - there is pawlenty of his own kind inside GOP - living inside Log Cabins.

WCA,

So the word has advanced from "discouraging" to threatening"?

The last thing we need in our city is another fast food place. And these are franchises.

Wonder what the franchise fee and other kicbacks are to the corporation?

Pawlenty is the Romney "outsource" guy today and FR fell for it , hook, line and sinker.!!!

Meanwhile, Romney and his guy Sheldon have having dinner in Israel. How about a thread about that?

Thanks to you libbies Chick-Fill-A just got so much free advertising they will be opening twice as many stores this year.

What gives any of you the right to tell this man how to think?

better be careful there noid or you're gonna spend an awful lot of time here calling out all the posters who make erroneous comments.

Left and Right. cuz you can't just pick one side now can you?

Probably would be a full time job.

karma works...GOP has outlawed itself IN politics.

(this also serves as a correction of my earlier post - missing the proposition of "IN").

tonybeeerm

Nah GT. They're still afraid you can get AIDS by looking at a gay person.

Sweet Jeebus, since the Teapublicans are hell bent on gutting research, education, and health care in this country, what else should we expect from these ignoramuses? Here's one for ya rightwingers, hold a Bayer aspirin between your knees!

Perhaps you missed the point that a mayor of a major city got on national TV and told a business they are not welcome there because their morals don't agree with his.

I guess you don't remember when the mayor of las vegas said on national tv that the President of the United States wasn't welcome in his town either. Funny how you rwnj's have selective memories.

better be careful there noid or you're gonna spend an awful lot of time here calling out all the posters who make erroneous comments.

I stand by my original question to "John.Galt"...though I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for an answer.

bah, chick-fil-a stinks anyway. Oherwise, no surpise: Republikkkans, true to their fascist roots, are cranked up about government officials jerking around a company that is so un-American it is spending money to deny American citizens basic rights under the constitution.

heck even blunders that Mr. Secret Romney refuses to reveal.

Correction to my post above -- I meant to type "bundlers." If not a spellcheck typo, certainly a Freudian slip, eh?

See, that's what's awesome!

What this country needs, is even MORE fat dumb obese rednecks with higher cholesterol!

Go rednecks! eat it up! shove that chicken in your greasy fat pie-holes!

please do!

old fat guy-1144960

Thanks to you libbies Chick-Fill-A just got so much free advertising they will be opening twice as many stores this year.

What gives any of you the right to tell this man how to think?

Now you have the police power of government intimidating and threatening people, being used to intimidate and threaten people, based on their free speech rights and their religious views

Isn't this exactly what the rwnj faux xtians are trying to constantly do those that may be of an other than xtian religious ideology? Is it okay to demand the feds help oppress Muslim or other religion? Talk about being being a total hypocrite. Another version of the American taliban from the in name only xtians.

Either STFU or GTFO of other people ideologies t-paw. Go talk to sp or rl or gb if you need a shoulder to cry on. I am quite sure they will stop their personal pity parties long enough for you to throw your own. Good luck convincing them to let you take some of their thunder though.

They don't just give to anti-gay groups. They also give millions to groups who preach women belong at home in the kitchen and fight against equality legislation.

I don't remember Pawlenty sticking up for Starbucks when NOM called for a boycott there.

1) Pawlenty seems to have forgotten that at one time virtually all openly gay and most closeted gay people were Republicans (remember the Log Cabin Republicans?) In addition to around 90% gay support, the GOP used to have 70+% of the African-American vote. But they had to drive all those folks from the "Big Tent" in order to accomodate older white southern males. Not very smart just as the continued demonization of so-called "Hispanics" will do them great long term harm as a party.

2) Chik-Fil-A has always been a strange brew of "christianity" (defined as religion unaffiliated with Christ's teachings) and has always had bizarre business practices. They just didn't want to stay closed on Sunday, they poured millions into trying to enforce "blue laws" to keep everyone shut on Sunday. At the time this made them pretty unpopular and they lost a lot of business because they were mostly in mall food courts and were actually trying to force malls to shut on Sunday under various pretexts. Eventually they found it difficult to open in malls because the other tenants didn't want them there.

3) Chik-Fil-A has long used its "christian" values in order to prey on the children of fundamentalist baptist families. They used closing on Sundays as a pretext to pay less than the minimum wage, to not pay any benefits, and to discriminate against African-Americans, gays, and others. This is nothing new.

4) Chiuk-Fil-A has incurred a lot of criticism for including booklets and CD's in kids' meals vllifying scientists who "promote evolution nonsense" and stating that "dinosaurs and men lived to gether in peace". A lot of people don't want to expose their kids to this nonsense.

5) Chik-Fil-A "pioneered" the use of dispensers for religious tracts in restaurant restrooms. They've pretty much stopped that these days because of the bad reception and com plaints about allowing Christ's image to lie on restroom floors.

6) The son finally admitted that Chik-Fil-A's Sunday closings had nothing to do with religion, but rather giving his dad a day off since he was worn out by Sunday.

7) The mayors who questioned Chik-Fil-A's anti-gay practices all must deal with anti-discrimination laws that forbid the type of gender- or orientation-based discrimination that Chik-Fil-A practices with both customers and employees. It is easier to ask them not to open in their cities if they intend to continue their hateful conduct than to allow them to open and then have to shut them down at taxpayers' expense.

8) Chik-Fil-A has been suffering greatly as of late in its college campuys initiatives. There have been numerous accusations of kickbacks and inappropriate "gifts" to campus administrators that allowed Chik-Fil-A food monolopies on campuses. Several have ceased contracts with Chik as a result, several more have cancelled plans to allow them to open on campuses, and I would expect that campuses are likely to become a very hard row to hoe in the future. The Jim Henson Company just ceased its relationships with Chik.

9) Right at the peak of the uproar, Chik's PR vice-president was felled by a heart attack. While the cause was likely eating too much fried food at Chik-Fil-A, I have not seen the religious nuts saying that it was God's vengeance for attacking gays.

10) There is a suit in California that accuses several restaurant chains of using pressure cookers to cook chicken at very high temperatures in such a way that it PhlP, a banned carcinogen. Apparently Kentucky Fried Chicken well sewed up the patents for pressure-cooking chicken safely that Chik and other companies, such as Outback and Appleby's that use pressure-cooking to quickly cook frozen foods and to prepare less than tender cuts of meat. This is an absolute necessity at Chik, because instead of serving young "fryers", they serve older "laid out" hens that need the pressure-cooking to be tender enough to chew.

There are lots of reasons not to go to Chik-Fil-A, not just their stance on unChristlike faux "christian" issues. I sincerely doubt that a "libtard" like Christ would be welcome as either a customer or an employee at Chik-Fil-A. And I'm with the long-haired leftist socialist bleeding heart liberal on this one: ""Therefore all things whatsoever would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matthew 7:12, see also Luke 6:31).

Tried their chicken once three years ago. Was way to greasy for me. Leave it to a Republican, like Pawlenty, to make the bigot the victim in this exchange. Nice try. If you keep eating this chicken you may want to invest in a defibrilator.

Yumm....good fries too.

Nothing says coronary artery disease like, deep fried fat...

Is it any wonder there is an obesity epidemic in this country?

Tim did you feel that same way Bachmann came out and attacked a public servant with nothing but trash evidence. Sorry its hard to take anyone serious who uses selective objectivity.

What the big fuss is about lest we forget is we do not discriminate against a class of people. What Chik-Fil-A has done is discourage homosexuals from franchise ownership and used corporate profits to advance further discrimination. The Chicago Alderman that refuses to allow a Chik-Fil-A in his Ward is denial to a corporation that practices blatant exclusion of a class of people. This is not a FREE SPEECH issue, it is a civil rights issue. What Gov. Pawlenty shows is his inability to grasp real issues and is using this along with Sarah Palin to make this a political/free speech issue. The Tea Partiers want all of their pols to grow a set and apparently Pawlenty is trying to show Uncle Mitt that he has a proper set of Tea Party balls just like Sarah. Unfortunately, his is a non-issue so does that mean he didn't earn his balls?

@Roadhead

Isn't this exactly what the rwnj faux xtians are trying to constantly do those that may be of an other than xtian religious ideology? Is it okay to demand the feds help oppress Muslim or other religion? Talk about being being a total hypocrite. Another version of the American taliban from the in name only xtians.

Wait let me get this straight. Youre maintaining that a theological organization has influenced a federal entity to oppress other religions overseas? What examples do you cite? If you are referring to Islamic sects like the Wahhabists that comprise nearly all of the Al Qaeda command and control elements in places like Mali, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, then yes its necessary to suppress but Christianity had little to do with it.

Not to mention your erroneous description of "American Taliban", a ludicrous notion considering how much "xtian" money has gone to worldwide relief efforts even up to and including the floods in Muslim Pakistan.

Oh that's right, you're just against anyone professing their faith and saying anything against any of the leftist ideals that you are pushing in this country. If anyone is not in direct support of gay marriage and a leftist agenda they must be evil and should be run out of business, reprimanded publicly, humiliated and called vile names. Who is the Taliban now? Sounds like you are.

A new slogan for Chick-Fil-A should be - "Chick-Fil-A, we are Chicken!"

.

.

Definition of Chicken in the Webster Dic:

²chicken

adj

Definition of CHICKEN

a: scared b: timid, cowardly

.

.

Timid happens to be Tim Pawlenty's First Name!

You libbies have a problem with Christians disdain for gay marriage wait until the muslims take over and see what happens.

I guess I'll have to rephrase the question...how many Chick-Fil-As has the government forced out of business since this began?

And I'm going to have to say the same thing again: IT DOES NOT MATTER - the mayors are trying to use the power of government to determine whether they will allow a company to operate in their cities based solely on the beliefs of the CEO. It's part of the natural life cycle of such businesses that they're always opening and closing new outlets; if you prohibit them from opening new ones, you're essentially shutting down the business over the long run. It's logically the same whether you actually shut down existing outlets, or merely prevent any new ones from opening.

Look, I'm not a great fan of Chick-Fil-A's politics (I'm a Libertarian, which these people definitely are NOT), but either we all have freedom of speech (whether small or great, left or right), or none of us do.

ED-2874315

God is so mad at the way Chick-fil-a is using His name that he recalled their spokesman.

Ed...Actually, from a Christian perspective, that is considered a promotion. As such, that would be His stamp of approval!

Liberals try and force people into accepting their views, and if you simply disagree as a matter of principle you are labeled:a racist, to be homophobic,a bigot etc..

that's a good one, lmao. But you have a few typo's. Allow me to fix them for you.

Conservatives try and force people into accepting their views, and if you simply disagree as a matter of principle you are labeled:a marxist, to be unpatriotic, an atheist etc.. There that's better.

Gays and Lesbians are here to stay. This is the same way people acted in the south when it came to interracial dating and marriage. People should feel free to be who they are. They don't need my or anyone else's consent to live there life, their way. It's ashame that people use religion to separate us instead of using it to unite us. No wonder more and more people are turning away from religion.

I've got to side with Chick-fil-a on this one because I see this truly as freedom of speech. For them to come out for or against unsettled law and cite their religious views is perfectly legal and encouraged as long as they do not provide differing service to gays or married gays.

That said, those with differing views have every right to react to their statements in any non-violent fashion they choose... that is the way we debate and resolve things in America.

Palin, in her typical red-meat ambulance chasing fashion, giving a public thumbs up has every right to do that. She can express her religious views and support at any time in a non-violent way. And those of us that disagree have every right to comment on her hypocrisy and constant judging of other people.

Given her Republican affiliation, gays and those that support gays have every right to remove their vote from that party and vote for a party with far more tolerance and acceptance.

Vote Obama/Biden 2012.

Liberals LOOOOVE diversity.

As long as you believe what they do.

Thank you for defending free speech, Governor Pawlenty!

Chick-fil-a should change their slogan from "Eat mor chiken"

to "Be mor of a chiken sh*t"

I for one will still be eating a Chick-Fil-A. I don't care what the owner thinks of gay marriage. I don't like my chicken nuggets being made into a civil rights battleground.

It violates our First Amendment rights (all of ours) when the government organizes against a business because the owner has exercised his freedom of speech in a way they don't like. It is especially offensive because the same government has never organized a boycott against a business for shipping jobs over seas, which is conduct not protected by Constitution. Instead they give them millions of our money to stay here. It's ludicris.

Palin hasn't had an original thought in ten years. She has to write her talking points in the palm of her hand lest her political attention deficit disorder totally shuts her down. One of these days she is going to fall flat on her face trying to catch up to the right wing band wagon. She is easily ignored in this matter.

Well, there are two disturbing things here.

But first, for the record, I need to say that have no issue with homosexuality - people are clearly built the way people are built, and no one should have to hide or try to suppress their natural feelings. In a relationship, I respect love, peace, communication, stability - so I have WAY more respect for a couple like Sally Ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy, by all reports they were happy & stable for 27 years - than I do for some arbitrary heterosexual couple that may be abusive, negative, fight and then get divorced, leaving children that are the product of a broken home. It's about being happy, stable, loving - and it has nothing to do with M/M, F/F, or M/F. Also, for the record, I'm a happily married straight man, with 4 kids, married for 25 years, so clearly that is the kind of relationship I personally 'support' - but I the point is happy couples, be they straight or gay, that makes no difference.

If you read the quote - the WHOLE quote from Dan Cathy in context of everything he said, he didn't actually condemn homosexuality or gay marriage. The edited, chopped, abbreviated quote as manufactured by most of the media made it sound worse, and the media got exactly what they wanted - a manufactured controversy between the far extremes on the issue. He did of course say they are a Christian family, and that they support all sorts of Biblical values including the Biblical definition of marriage, but he didn't say he condemned anyone or anything. People may not agree with his views for themselves, but he never said the quotes the way they are being manufactured and reported. Again, I have no problem with gay marriage at all, but we still need to be accurate with what was said by Dan Cathy.

However, the accuracy of what he said or didn't say is almost beside the point - what is chilling is Government officials other people in 'power' saying they will discourage or otherwise punish a business for the owners beliefs. For example, Proctor & Gamble was reported to have owners that are Satanic - and as a individual, you can choose to believe or not believe that, and as a consumer you can choose to purchase Crest toothpaste or not, but if you think about it, none of us really wants our Government to be deciding business permits based on your religion, do we? There are business's that are owned by Islamics and Buddhists and obviously, to some degree, some of the 100's of decisions they make every day are based on their personalities and their personal belief and value system.

So, I totally understand that Dan Cathy's beliefs and views aren't shared by most people on here, and that they aren't shared by me either, but do we really want our Government (be they Democrat or Republican, Sunni or Shia, Tutsi or Hutu) requiring a certain religion (or even requiring a lack of religion) or they will discourage that business or deny new business licenses or otherwise punish that business? I really don't think we want a Government policy that decides to support business's that believe ''properly'', and discourage business's that don't believe ''properly'', do we?

You cannot force any person or business to accept what they in their own opinion is objectionable.

Boy-scouts, etc.

Leave this company alone.

I am A voice of freedom of choice.

SUPPORT CHICK-FIL-A AUGUST 4TH 2012 BY STOPPING IN AND BUY THEIR PRODUCT.

The funniest part of this whole Chik-fil-a story is up until a couple weeks ago Pres. Obama had the same views on same sex marriage as the chik-fil-a founder. I'm guessing all the people boycotting chic-fil-a probably voted for him in 2008. Hypocrites much?

The funniest part of this whole Chik-fil-a story is up until a couple weeks ago Pres. Obama had the same views on same sex marriage as the chik-fil-a founder.

Of course, you have a credible source for your claim...

SURE you DO! ;o)

Liberals LOOOOVE diversity.

As long as you believe what they do.

Thank you for defending free speech, Governor Pawlenty!

There is a fine line between Free Speech and Hate Speech. I have no idea what Cathay said, nor do I care. The point here is remember when you spread hate there are people itching to take you on over it. Say what you want to say but don't complain when someone ups the anti. Don't complain when someone burns an effigy in your front yard. Don't complain when someone gets in your face. Don't complain when someone tries to ride you out of town on a rail. With freedom comes responsibility. And Cathay has shown a major lack of that in his comments no matter how they were framed.

You see, when you spread hate, you get people who hate you. Cathay is spreading hate toward a group of individuals our society, et. al. has deemed "acceptable". Fine. He has ever right to say what he would like to say, but you don't get to scream "FOUL" when someone takes you on for it.

As to the mayors, it's complete smoke and mirrors and you all should know that. They are pandering to their constituents. They have no power to keep anyone out of town that wants to start a business.

I would, however, suggest this may negatively impact any expansion into the north that Chik-fi-a might be planning.

As to Pawlenty, he's an even bigger twit than I imagined. Like Ted Nugent, his need to be in the spot light has overridden his a$$.

Feisty, All the Chic-fil-a founder did was say he supported traditional marriage when a reporter asked about his stance. Up until a few weeks ago Pres Obama said he was also a supporter of traditional marriage and the only reason he flipped flopped was his vice president painted him into a corner on the subject. I would expect you to at least know Obama's platforms since you are such a big fan of his.

Whats the difference between a KKK member and a Republican? The Republican forgot to cut out the eye holes in his cap.

Frankhank: the boy scouts are a different situation, as they receive public monies...so yes, imo, anti-discrimination laws apply

I am a liberal (on most social issues) but on this one, to me, it's a first amendment issue...HOWEVER...would we all feel the same if a mayor or other public official were to discourage a neo-nazi group that owned some sort of franchise business?

I have never eaten at Chick fil A, and never will, because I don't like their political stance and yes, it's political, because they donate to anti-gay groups...and what's nice is that I KNOW that they do...I respect the fact that they aren't hiding their beliefs (even if I think they're hypocrites by picking and choosing which portions of the bible to follow)...

transparency...it's all about allowing me to know who's donating to what...so that I know the agenda behind a group...and can act accordingly

Having said that...really? do we NEED to call names? Are people such aholes that they can't have a respectful conversation and agree to disagree? I find many of people's stances (mostly self-titled conservatives) contemptible to idiotic or delusional, but do I create idiotic names to label them so that they feel my dripping contempt? How about using some respect, acknowledging we have differences, and focus on the things we all agree on and work from there, instead of allowing ourselves to be polarized for political agendas? Use facts and research to support your view, discuss it politely...and make sure that the 'facts' are thoroughly researched and peer reviewed, not anectdotal evidence that somebody sent you in an email...

DarkShadow1701 you wrote to STexan

perhaps you have missed how the company has donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010 alone. That is the chain being involved directly into anti-gay views. So who is ignorant now?

Don't look now but your ignorance is showing. Chic-Fil-a is a privately owned business, and has the right to donate to whatever charities it wants to. Of course it would support charities that shares the values of the owner and leadership of the company, unlike say.. the labor unions that first force workers to join, force its members to pay dues and then donates to political groups that do not share the same values of its membership.

And I'd be willing to bet that there are some businesses out there that are owned by gays that donate to charities that share their gay views...but then you'd probably see nothing wrong with that.

Obviously, it’s perfectly legitimate for private citizens to decide not to patronize a business with executives who have such views (I’d likely refrain from doing so in this case). Beyond that, if a business is engaging in discriminatory hiring or service practices in violation of the law — refusing to hire gay employees or serve gay patrons in cities which have made sexual orientation discrimination illegal — then it is perfectly legitimate to take action against them.

But that is not the case here; the actions are purely in retribution against the views of the business’ top executive on the desirability of same-sex marriage:

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has said Chick-fil-A “doesn’t belong in Boston” because of [Chick-fil-A President Dan] Cathy’s discriminatory stance.

On Wednesday, the tag team of Emanuel and Moreno joined the chorus, citing Cathy’s anti-gay views.

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/26/rahm_emanuels_free_speech_attack/

What the big fuss is about lest we forget is we do not discriminate against a class of people. What Chik-Fil-A has done is discourage homosexuals from franchise ownership and used corporate profits to advance further discrimination.

There is NO sense in which franchise ownership (of any business, it doesn't matter) can be considered a "right." So what if they've done that? Is a business not allowed to choose their own associates?

And so what if they've used corporate profits to discourage things like gay marriage?! Are people not entitled to act on their opinions?!

Would you really feel the same way if a Catholic mayor had said that he would attempt to deny a business license to Ben & Jerry's, based solely on the grounds that they support Planned Parenthood?

As a nation, we really shouldn't go there - unless we want to become no better than any number of tinpot Fascist dictatorships.

God help us all.

Wow! Another tempest in a teapot over some crappy fried chicken. Does Chick a Fellatio or what ever it is conduct Christian purity tests on it's birds? Does their management do background checks on the possibility of lesbian relationships among the hens? (They do tend toward cohabitation) Do they ask WWJF? (what would Jesus Fry?) Are the birds euthanized in a Christian manner? (On the rack while seeking confessions of being gay and consorting with Satan? Crucified? Perhaps a Chicken Crusade to kill Muslims and win back the Holy Land? Are the hens martyred or are they just surrendering themselves to a higher power? In the name of Col. Sanders we compel you! )

Does this mean the republicans will have a chicken plank at the convention? Will it come with fries and slaw? The Public is entitled to some answers here! Does Mittens or Pawlenty hold stock? Is it Chicken Stock? What is Obama's stance on fried chicken? Original or crispy?

Hey PEOPLE!! This isn't just a matter of a slight difference of opinion between two people of approximately equal power. This is a matter of a rather large corporation taking a very prejudiced view of a whole class of American citizens, and using their MONEY to promote this view. They aren't quite so open as to ask at the door if you are gay or not, then tell you that you can't sit with the good folk if you are. Instead, they are spending money to see to it that your right to exist is outlawed. Granted, that is not quite what these organizations that are getting heaping piles of money from Chikfila are advertising, but it is what they are quietly practicing. Do you know of ANY group that swears on a stack of bibles that they can cure you of being black, or yellow, or brown, or even pink, like most of us? Didn't think so, but at least one of the groups claims to be using the BIBLE to cure gayness. And Mr. Cathy very openly supports this and other anti-gay groups, not just with HIS money, but with corporate funds. Such expenditures should be voted on by the board of directors AND by the stockholders, but I would just about bet those payments were made on his orders alone.

It's like the "Ground Zero Mosque". They have legal rights not to be discriminated against locating their business in the community.

If you are a government official, you must preface your statemenship with "We wll protect their rights to locate their business, here, but..."

I do vaguely remember conservatives expressing outrage when a large national chain donated money to a pro-gay cause. Seems kind of strange now that they are upset that people are outraged with a large national chain for doing the opposite.

Don't complain when someone burns an effigy in your front yard. Don't complain when someone gets in your face. Don't complain when someone tries to ride you out of town on a rail.

Last I checked, both the first and last things on your list were illegal - malicious trespass and assault.

I do agree that voicing one's opinions can have consequences - and many business people avoid saying much about religion or politics for fear of alienating their customers. But if they do give voice to their opinions, they should be prepared for potential customers to react to them (either positively or negatively). However it is most certainly NOT the place of government to pass judgement on the political views of private citizens.

I don't get it. So if a liberal mayor doesn't like an American owned business religious views, then he can say they are not welcome in their city. But if a mayor were to say that a Muslim owned business was not welcome in their city because he didn't agree with their religious views (which discriminate against women), he would have the DOJ breathing down his neck. Another reason I won't vote for Obama. He has too many friends that speak out of both sides of their necks.

> mj-1451595 I have no idea what Cathay said, nor do I care... [edited for brevity] ...Cathay is spreading hate toward a group of individuals

So, how can you decide that he's ''spreading hate'' without knowing what he said? :)

What he said was: "WinShape.com began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove." "That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries" Cathy added, "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.

So, you can now decide if that's ''spreading hate'' or not. :) I don't think it's hateful, but you can decide that for yourself. For the record, I'm personally not homophobic or opposed to gay marriage - however we should still be accurate with Dan Cathy's words. and I think the news media manufactured a controversy by 'spinning' his words into something he didn't really say.

Don't complain when someone burns an effigy in your front yard. Don't complain when someone gets in your face. Don't complain when someone tries to ride you out of town on a rail.

mj, this isn't "speech" - these are threats of violence.

Thank you for standing up for free speech, Tim Pawlenty!

Just look at the intolerance from a group seeking tolerance. Total abuse on the part of the gay community that doesn't allow anyone to have a differing opinion, or they will try and ruin you. Now that they are out of the closet their goal is to keep anyone with a differing opinion in one. A complete and total abuse of power, and I for one will never again support a gay rights initiative as long as they employ these tactics.

I think it's perfect justice that the republicans are now "flocking" to chick-a-fil in support of their discriminatory stance on gays and lesbians, Chick-a-fil's food is nasty, carcinogenic, hormone/antibiotic injected, genetically modified corn fed, artery clogging crap. Please conservatives, eat all you want and soon the world will be a much more peaceful and less polluted place without you.

Marriage is a religious commitment and most libbers claim to be non believers so why do we even need gay marriage?

Libs are all for free speech until someone doesn't agree with them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion last time I looked so why do certain leaders think they can punish a business simply because they don't agree with them. Rahm E. claims that Chik Fil A doesn't mirror Chicago values.....like Rahm speaks for everyone. I will personally encourage everyone to go to Chik Fil A not just because they have a great sandwich but because their CEO has the courage to voice a politically incorrect opinion. Remember, he is just voicing an opinion and not barring anyone from eating in his establishment. Beware the thought police.

See T-Paw, as an American, it is my right to take MY business where I see fit!

Butt snarky Fiesty, it is not your right to limit or curtail the rights of others to express opinions with which you disagree. Get off your horse and take a load off the poor beast. And if you don't like fries, perhaps you should complain about Burger King, McDonalds, et al. You sure are one opinionated dumb fux.

The BSA (Boy Scouts) should adopt them as their Mascot: From Eagle Scout to Chicken Scout.

David Noah: You are absolutely wrong, homosexuals ARE allowed to give blood. All blood is screened and guess what? Lots of heterosexuals are infected with HIV/AIDS, as well as Hepatitis C and many, many other blood borne diseases. I've NEVER been asked if I was homosexual before donating blood. You're wrong!

Chik-fil-a wants to sell chicken to anyone, they just want to put their money behind organizations that lobby against gay marriage, which is a legal status, not a religious thing. Non-religious groups and tribes all have marriage too, for the ethnocentric in the conversation. btw got a message from the resident angel in the Cary, NC area, "Worked in today, didn't want to run into that idiot TPaw".

I think it's perfect justice that the republicans are now "flocking" to chick-a-fil in support of their discriminatory stance on gays and lesbians, Chick-a-fil's food is nasty, carcinogenic, hormone/antibiotic injected, genetically modified corn fed, artery clogging crap. Please conservatives, eat all you want and soon the world will be a much more peaceful and less polluted place without you.

(shrug) I'm not a Republican, and I don't eat at Chick-Fil-A or any other fried chicken restaurant (I have enough trouble controlling my weight as it is, without all that extra fat). But it's nice to see how much you care (or, as it appears, DON'T care) for the welfare of your fellow man :-).

As far as I'm concerned, it's purely a free-speech issue, no more and no less.

I do vaguely remember conservatives expressing outrage when a large national chain donated money to a pro-gay cause. Seems kind of strange now that they are upset that people are outraged with a large national chain for doing the opposite.

It's everyone's right to express their outrage about anything - that's what free speech is. So what?!

The issue isn't that this company's owners have a viewpoint that many people in this country disagree with, it's that certain individuals appear to want to use government power to shut them down because of that viewpoint.

Chad-4213400

Whats the difference between a KKK member and a Republican? The Republican forgot to cut out the eye holes in his cap.

You do realize that the KKK was founded as an enforcement wing of the "Democratic" Party.

Dan Cathy should be recalled. What a disgrace.

I usually do not eat too much fast food, but I am going to have lunch at Chick-fil-a probably three times next week and more the rest of the month in support of their right to free speech. Hope you all do the same. This is going to backfire on the liberals as Chick-fil-a's sales will probably spike over the following months.

Lots of self-righteous bigots posting on here. It's a heady brew to quaff.

Maybe the people who are not in favor of gay marriage should organize themselves to boycott, harass and picket the pro-gay marriage businesses. Wouldn't that be fair? Just being gay doesn't mean that you are exempt from the rules and ethics of fair play.

Bodydouble,

I think it's perfect justice that the republicans are now "flocking" to chick-a-fil in support of their discriminatory stance on gays and lesbians, Chick-a-fil's food is nasty, carcinogenic, hormone/antibiotic injected, genetically modified corn fed, artery clogging crap. Please conservatives, eat all you want and soon the world will be a much more peaceful and less polluted place without you.

_____________________

Gee what a low-class comment. Your mommy must be proud of you. I am sure she tried, but she obviously failed.

I think her Mom did something right.

The real question is, does Chickfila discriminate against gay customers or employees? All the gay community has to do is get a bunch of gays hired at various Chickfila restaurants, then announce they are gay. If they get fired they can sue the place out of existence.

Those that feel this is silly and overblown...imagine if, say Wendy's, came out and said they are proud of their African-American past and donate money to Black Panthers and other groups bent on seeing "whitey" brought down. Still feel like that would be kosher? Didn't think so. Think it would be funny to see groups wanting to eat at Wendy's on Aug 4th as a show of support? Before any of you gasbags pooh-pooh this off, step inside a gay's shoes and see what life is like. I bet you'd find it pretty damn similar to yours. You'd get up each day and go to work. Have beers, watch sports, go looking for dates. But then your partner gets sick and you have squat to say about treatment. And good luck getting them onto your insurance. And worse, if they are hooked to life support, you aren't the one that decides when to pull the plug. maybe it would be their family, which hated their "lifestyle choice". Seem fair to you?

These might seem extreme examples, but they are things married couples have, guaranteed by law. I give thanks every day i am married to my wonderful wife, where we have the luxory of shared responsibilites. When I was born, no one blessed my forehead with the Right to Tell Others They aren't as Good as I. But yet, Conservatives feel compelled to do exactly that. Some people are ticked off that mayors are telling a private corp. they are not welcome in their city. I'm more pissed off that some groups of people are trying to tell other groups they aren't as good as they are.

Think about this as your choke down some waffle fries. I used to not go to CFA due to the higher than average cost of their food. I will now not go out of spite.

Why would any intelligent business person want to broadcast their political views, and risk losing customers? Just run your business.

Why would any intelligent person want to step on someone else's equal rights, and risk losing theirs? Just worry about your life.

Today's democrat party has turned Marxist. Obama, himself is a Marxist. In Dreams of Him Father, Hussein references Frank Davis Marshall dozens of times. Marshall was Hussein's mentor. Google Frank Davis Marshall and you will know all you need to know about Obama and what his party are becoming.

The Democrat Party wants to go from "You didn't build that" to " You can't build that"

Menino gave an interest free 1.8 Million dollar load to a Muslim group to build a Mosque in Boston.

Did someone clue Menino into the fact the under Sharia Law the Muslims stone homosexuals to death?

How about your own Catholic Church Mayor Menino what are their views on the matter?

Democrats simply hate business people! Democrats have declared war on business!

So we have the extremely hated filled right vomiting up so much anti-everything that most of America would be dis-enfranchised by the Republlcan party if someone actually cared.

The Feisty red head from Illinois says gays should be seated in the back of the restaurant or served through the back door. Nice! Just so "Republican of her!" Not to mention that the bigot in her is probably why she's a republican to begin with.

Please can't you remember when women couldn't vote? Because women were 2nd class citizens.

Dan Cathy is clearly insecure about his girly name. But he's all man, right? I'd bet he sleeps with men frequently at a minimum. The conservatives have been duped. Ms. Dan Cathy isn't the Christian he's led you to believe he is.

Cathy and his restaurants should be banned where ever there are equal opportunity employment laws. He is clearly extremely prejudiced against gays and lesbians so his hiring practices are certainly to be same.

BOYCOTT CHICK-FIL-A! Boot them out of Boston, Washington, New York city, L.A. Seattle, Miami etc.

David Noah

Fiesty Homosexuals aren't allowed to give blood. I guess if you ever get into a serious accident and need a blood transfusion you better have an alert ID bracelet saying "No Blood Transfusions" because of those homophobic, gay hating rules not allowing homosexuals to give blood to protect the blood supply..

It's been over a decade since I last donated blood, but I'm fairly certain that they do not discriminate donors based on their sexual orientation/history. If you are eligible to donate and pass the initial screening (age, weight, days since last donation, health and recent travel history, iron test) then you can donate. The donated blood is screened for HIV/AIDS and will be discarded if it cannot be used.

“DarkShadow1701

STexan, perhaps you have missed how the company has donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010 alone. That is the chain being involved directly into anti-gay views. So who is ignorant now?”

First off, they didn’t contribute to “anti-gay” views. They contributed to pro-Christian, pro-heterosexual
marriage. An “anti-gay” view would be one that wanted to destroy gays. Just because we want to protect the definition of marriage doesn’t mean that we “hate” anyone but that we love our God and
want to protect what He established. Second - They are a privately owned company, it is their right just as
it is my right and the right of millions of other US citizens to support them.

“It's been over a decade since I last donated blood, but I'm fairly certain that they do not discriminate donors based on their sexual orientation/history.”

I don’t know about anywhere else, but here, blood banks do not take blood from homosexuals. I believe it is based on the days when they couldn’t effectively test for AIDS/HIV.

I'm not boycotting Chick-Fil-A because of their gay marriage stance. I'm boycotting Chick-Fil-A because of their Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich. Leviticus 11:8 says that you shall not eat swine (nor touch its flesh... *cough* football *cough*... I'm also boycotting Chick-Fil-A, because Leviticus 19:19 says that you can't wear clothing of mixed fabrics and I'm willing to bet that their employees violate the law of the lord and wear poly/cotton blends - simply unnatural! Leviticus 19:27 says that you cannot get haircuts/beard cuts (no shaving, men! Tell your boss that you have to grow a beard or you are going to p*ss the invisible man off!

Show me in the bible where god says "And ye may cherry pick what you follow of my word and what ye do not." I won't hold my breath... *cough* hypocrites *cough*

BOYCOTT CHICK-FIL-A! Boot them out of Boston, Washington, New York city, L.A. Seattle, Miami etc

Forget that....

BOYCOTT THE COMMUNIST (OOPS I MEAN DEMOCRAT) PARTY!

There are so many things posted in this thread that I'd like to respond to, but I'll be selective.

what right is Mr Cathy depriving gays of? Not employment, since I sincerely doubt that apps for employment ask for sexual orientation. It is forbidden to ask this. The last time i worked at a blood drive, one of the questions on the questionnaire (this was at a satellite location) asked if the potential donor had ever had sex, even once, with a person of the same gender. If the answer was yes, the potential donor was disqualified. And when we talk about rights, there is NO right to marry. If there were, i could complain that I was denied that "right". I have never married--not by my choice--and so i guess i can complain. But to whom do I speak?

Timmy is just grasping for attention...Like week old chicken in the refridge,....time to be thrown in the garbage.

Agreed 10000000000000%.

I have been avoiding Chik-Fil-A for a while because I am gay. My issue hasn't been that they are anti-gay marriage, but that they fund some pretty horrible anti-gay programs. We moved and my (now) local Chik-fil-a has no issue with gays and I have no problem supporting a local small business owner even if it means some money makes it back to the big bad corporation. It's my damn money and I will do with it what I please, and I expect my peers to be able to make the same choices with their money. Even if I think they are ignorant moron's

OUR elected officials better the fark not suppress a damn thing. Over and done with these cousin humping twits thinking that democracy and the law no longer applies to them once they are elected.

Chik-Fil-A should be able to open they where ever they damn well have a right to and local government needs to get off their moronic butts and make sure they are given the same care and consideration as every other business. If the community doesn't want them, they won't support the chain. The end.

I agree with you 100%. If a person wants to make a freech speech conservative christian stance, let them - its America. But if potential customers decide to boycott your restaraunts based upon your bigotry, let them - its America. We don't want to hear your cry-baby bs response . Do these christian zealots ever stop and think the harm and damage their bigotry causes in the lives of just a certain group of citizens who supposedly have protection under the US Constitution's Civil Rights Act of 1964? Freedom from religion is implied. What next, round up atheists and burn them at the stake?

Failin' Palin is also in the mix - obviously she hasn't learned a thing from Failure the Great - that's herself.

As Republicans have said many times on this newsvine "what's the big deal, get over it". I totally agree with that statement in regard to this story. Why? Because;

1) How many towns/cities governments have denied a Wal-Mart from being allowed to open, or a MacDonalds, or other national brands because they didn't think they were appropriate or wanted in their community.

I mean really, what is the big deal.

Chik-Fil-A only wants you to obey the "blblical" definition of marriage:

1) A man can have up to five wives but a wife is only allowed one husband.

2) If your brother dies, you must take his widow as a wife, even if you do not like her.

3) Any marriage of a male "christian" to a female "unbeliever" is not valid.

4) Any marriage where the wife was not a virgin is null and void.

5) Women are to be stoned to death for adultery.

6) Women can be divorced by simply saying "you are divorced" three times in front of a witness.

7) There is no requirement that men be monogamous, that men be stoned to death for adultery, that women can divorce husbands for any reason, that men be virgins at marriage, or panelty against a male nonbeliever who marries a christian woman.

There are a lot more equally stupid rules for marriage specified in the Bible. I just stopped because the list was getting long, not because I war running out of absurdities that comprise the "bliblical" definition of marriage.

Where can I go to sign up for the Bliblical version of mnarriage that Chik-Fil-A supports? I presume they also support stoning to death all patrons of Red Lobster and Dreamland BBQ.

Maybe if people look at the biblical definition of marriage as revealed by God himself, they will be a lot more comfortable with two people who love one another publically professing that love without reference to gender or orientation. You can't hate your way to love.

It's likely Atheists will also avoid Chick-Fil-A, because the conservative Christians who advocate discrimination against homosexuals are also vocally against Atheists. Not all Atheists are gay-rights advocates, but I believe many, like me, are quietly in support of gay-rights, because as Atheists we also are targets of religiously oriented hate.

Red, I guess the concept is a brideg too far. Let me spell it out for you:

YOU CANNOT REFUSE A PERSON OR BUSINESS THE ABILITY TO BUSINESS DUE TO THEIR RACE OR RELIGION, etc.

They are free to do as they will like AMAZON did with their money. U CAN'T decide that it's NOT FREE SPEECH, IT'S ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS in this case, that a clear LEFTIST EXCUSE FOR TRYING to impede a person's RIGHT to free speech.

U leftists are as predicatble as any other fascist group. U can say whatever u want, BUT IT BETTER BE IN LINE WITH US OR WE'LL HAVE THE MAYOR, GOVERNOR, etc, PROHIBIT U FROM LOCATING A BUSINESS IN THEIR CITY OR STATE.

By the way RED, that is a FEDERAL law that prohibits discrimination, isn't it RED??

Yeah, nothing wrong with that is there??

1) How many towns/cities governments have denied a Wal-Mart from being allowed to open, or a MacDonalds, or other national brands because they didn't think they were appropriate or wanted in their community.

I don't think very many Wal-Marts or MacDonald's have been denied permits because of their politics, but (particularly in the case of Wal-Mart) because of zoning laws. There's a big difference.

Yeah, nothing wrong with that is there??

Oh MY!

Someone should look into some anger management classes... lol

Lighten up Francis!

When gays or the LGBT speaks, it is free speech.

When anyone else expresses their view(s) opposing, it is called hate speech and intolerance.

Amazing.

So what is the LGBT community so paranoid of anyway.

They have a right to disagree.

I have a right to disagree.

That is called Free Speech. Anyone who disagrees with that, you have serious issues and you need to leave for a country where they are intolerant of that right.

Deal with it or leave...you have a choice in that at least.

John Galt,

You are probably correct in most cases. But, where in this article did they say they were not issued a permit? I read they were not welcome there, but so far no denial of a permit.

So, I guess you want to take away their 1st amendment rights to voice their opinion? Isn't that what you are saying is being taken away fron CFA? Why would you want to remove theirs only and not CFA's?

There is no doubt that if the people in that community want CFA there, no politican will be able to prevent it. Again, it really isn't that big of a deal unless you make it so. Just saying.

Freedom from religion is implied. What next, round up atheists and burn them at the stake?

Oh my, I hope not. This would negatively impact nearly everyone I know.

Hobby Lobby is another "christian" business. Christian in the sense that they aren't open on Sunday and play all manner of religious music in their stores. They do however, have no issue with exploiting the Chinese in sweat shops and not passing a bit of the cost savings on to their customers.

I guess for Christians all's fair in commerce as long as it's those non-christians you're grinding into the ground.

Too much controversy over chicken. The old rule of thumb is the "preacher" will probably stop on Sunday to suck up a free dinner, thus the traditional Sunday dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, and probably cornbread or biscuits. For every three people (adults) kill one chicken. There are a variety of ways to do this, but it involves removing the chicken's head.

Then pluck the chicken, don't skin it. There are a variety of ways to do this but it involves removing the feathers and pin feathers. Then gut the chicken. There are a variety of ways to do this but it involves removing the guts. Save the giblets, liver, heart, and liver to fry and make real gravy. There is only one way to do this... set them aside from the other guts.

Then cut up the chicken. Save the feet. If you don't like the preacher halve the chicken so your family gets the breast, thigh and leg meat, and the preacher gets the back, wings and neck. If you do like the preacher you probably didn't feed him chicken to begin with. When the preacher leaves, while holding his coat for him, slip the feet into his coat pocket. He'll find them depending on the temperature outside. If he doesn't like your attitude, tell him to spend his own damn money at Chick-fil-a.

I haven't eaten at Kentucky Fried Chicken since 1968 when they gave me "the top half" when I ordered half a chicken. You wouldn't think someone could hold a grudge that long with a business, would you? But they can. You can actually eat pretty well if you remove fried chicken and baking powder biscuits from your diet. If all you have to look forward to is fried chicken in both your personal life and your political choices, you're not well prepared for the topics of how to butcher a hog or a cow and the nuances of foreign policy.

So glad that we have all the important issues handled in the US, so that TP (has there ever been a more appropriate set of initials for a politician?) and Queen Sarah can lead the national debate on the right to bear chicken strips with a side of homophobia .... can I substitute fries instead?

Will grant you have the right to say what you want, but when it comes to persecution, that right becomes very tightly controlled. You will find very few gays walking the streets shouting "Down with the straights." You do, however, quite often hear of a group claiming to be christian and all in favor of free speech and all that goes with it parading through a town and shouting "Down with ALL QUEERS!" Not only that, but this same group will have no problem stopping at the only bar that is known to have a good number of gay patrons and performing a rather nasty war dance in the middle of the bar, then daring anyone to do anything about it. When the local cops are called, as they will be, the crowd will have disappeared, and if any of them is named, there will be twenty witnesses to swear he was someplace else. More than likely the testifying witnesses were members of the original group, but with no positive identification, there will be no charges made.

You are probably correct in most cases. But, where in this article did they say they were not issued a permit? I read they were not welcome there, but so far no denial of a permit.

They have not yet been denied a permit, but the mayors said that they would "try to prevent" them from opening a location there. They really have no weapon other than permits with which to do that, so the nature of the implied threat is obvious.

The mayors, or anybody else for that matter, are perfectly within their rights to say that a business "is not welcome here" or "does not reflect the values of this community." But as soon as you start trying to blackmail a business over the political views of their owner or CEO (and not over things like zoning laws or health department regulations and so forth) by threatening to withhold permits, you have clearly stepped over the line.

Tell you what, can ANY of you cite even ONE well-known and respected Constitutional scholar who seriously maintains that the mayors are within their rights to threaten to withhold permission for Chick-Fil-A to open a location in their cities, based solely on the political viewpoints of the owner/CEO? Even the ACLU (not exactly a friend of conservative causes) says that they have no leg to stand on and that this would clearly constitute a violation of the Constitution.

John.G... The case that comes to mind is CHICKEN VS. RHODE ISLAND. The court ruled that since chickens can't swim they can't get to an island and therefore the reason they crossed the Rhodes. They didn't have a leg to stand on either since a marching band used it for a drumstick. If you remember in the late 1960's Minney Pearle opened a fried chicken outlet to compete with Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken, and was actually advertising that " Minney Pearle has bigger breasts", to which many at the time felt didn't comply with the Puritan Ethic, Kentucky Fried Chicken's side of the battle. Pearle took up the banner that Colonel Sander's wasn't a real military colonel. and was misrepresenting his military title. When it was clarified that in Kentucky money can buy you a title whether or not you are qualified to hold it. Minney held on to her breasts, the Colonel held on to his title, and I think the courts chickened out on fast food issues for a few decades.

I love it when people quote the statement, "freedom from religion". You need to study up on your knowledge. The statement is "freedom of religion". It implies that we can all worship, or not worship, as we feel. It does not imply that religion was not part of our founding. If you want freedom from religion I would suggest Cuba or North Korea....let me know how that works for you.

do you still think you have freedom of speech anymore.

JG,

Nowhere did I see "blackmail" used in the article. As for my comment on "its no big deal, get over it", that is exactly what I meant and still maintain. As stated in my last response "There is no doubt that if the people in that community want CFA there, no politican will be able to prevent it. Again, it really isn't that big of a deal unless you make it so. "

I only questioned your statement about 1st amendment rights which it seems we argeed on. They both have them. However they handle it (right or wrong)will be up to them.

As for case law, I have no idea what exists or doesn't exist, so can't reply to that question and really have no desire to research it. I would image it would end up the same as the outrage the Republicans had over the Muslins building their church in N.Y. city awhile back. In the end it didn't stop that from happening. I think it won't here either.

@mrmac: in the US, of course, we all have freedom of speech. The problem is that some people forget that everyone else does as well and that means they can challenge, make fun of, or ignore what someone else says. And in some cases, they have been given the right to take legal action to respond to something that has been determined to cause harm to others by being untrue.

Nowhere did I see "blackmail" used in the article.

The term "blackmail" was my own - why should I be restricted to use exactly the same words that were used in the article? And yes, I do think that trying to use the power of the government in that way to suppress viewpoints with which some politician disagrees does amount to blackmail. What would you call it?

Hopefully saner heads will prevail and they won't try to block the restaurant from opening based on that kind of reason. If people like to eat there, it will do well; if they don't, it won't, and will have to close.

Why is this such a hard concept for people?

OH MY GOD - you crass Christian conservative little bitches slay me. The howling, the outrage, billions of bytes spent screaming, yelling, and bellyaching over a Mosque being opened near ground zero. Why, even Prissy Pants Pawlenty was howling and screaming:

Leaders of a dozen Muslim groups are calling on Gov. Tim Pawlenty to retract his statement of opposition to construction of a mosque two blocks from New York’s Ground Zero. Pawlenty called the planned project “inappropriate” in a Real Clear Politics interview published Friday, earning a rebuke from Rep. Keith Ellison. http://minnesotaindependent.com/63178/muslim-leaders-call-on-pawlenty-to-retract-statement-on-ground-zero-mosque

Gee, how about all that howling, screaming, bitching, whining and moaning over abortion clinics. How many of those have you two-faced Christian bitches bombed and blown up? Of course, Pawlenty wouldn't know anything about that either.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (April 16th talking to Fox “News” host Neil Cavuto) “I think it’s absurd. I mean, to suggest that the threat should be characterized in partisan philosophical terms is ridiculous…So, at a minimum, it’s unfair, and I think more candidly and bluntly, it’s absurd.”

You’re right Governor Pawlenty, it’s absolutely absurd to think anyone associated with “pro-life” advocates, or “individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion,” would ever commit a violent or possibly extreme act; just absurd. http://thelibertytree.me/tag/dr-david-gunn/

The link goes on to list 22 acts of murder and violence committed by you faux Christians.

So according to you conservatives, Chick-Fil-A for all, but no to mosques and abortion clinics? Sounds about right from the GOP/TP hypocrisy party.

@RedDevPs: The furor over the mosque was idiotic IMHO. In that case there weren't serious issues about zoning or anything like that, it was just that some people didn't like the idea of a mosque near (not AT) Ground Zero. I said then that the whole furor was a red herring.

You have to look at each case on its own - and in both cases, the attempts to use the force of government to suppress the proposals are utterly without merit.

An elected official denying or threatening to deny a business permit on the basis of disagreeing with the company owner's opinion on a social or religous issue is a clear infringement of First Amendment rights (and several other rights as well). These kinds of threats are and anuse of authority and likely a violation of their oaths of office.

It smacks of political brinksmanship and old-style strong-arm extortion tactics.

If a business requests a permit within the appropriately zoned area, permit needs to be granted. Let the citizens vote with their wallets.

It is cataclysmic, doomsday, the end of time and space itself, worse than finding out that your pizza coupon expired last week.

What a drama queen.
Plus, I don't go to Fil-A because I disagree with their political views. I don't go there because I don't like their food.

So let me get this straight: it's freedom of speech to promote open bigotry against a segment of the population. To say that said segment should be put in concentration camps to die.

It's a horrible affront to our rights to respond to this hateful opinion by choosing to do business with someone other than the open, proud supporters of this hate speech.

I get it. NOT.

You have to love it when mayors come out and say, you are not welcome because you don't have the same opinion as they do. The world is full of differing opinions, but that does not mean we cannot all get along. Except for those in support of gay marriage. They believe the only right opinion is their opinion. If you do not agree with them they will try and ruin you. For a group that seeks tolerance of their views, they are completely intolerant if you do not agree with them.

I wonder how many aborted chicken fetuses Pawlenty has eaten throughout the years. Chickens that never grew up to be sandwiches.

Once again the militant gay's rear their extremely ugly heads to put on display their abject intolerance of any one and anything that may express a different viewpoint. Their strategy is obvious, which is to attack and destroy all with a different viewpoint or belief system than the one they project.

Public officials that attempt to use the power of their elected office to attack and destroy such businesses are in direct violation of the constitution and are the sleaziest one's of all. They are demonstrating that they have no business holding any public office.

These militant and reprehensible tactics only end up harming the gay community.

When government decides which chicken restaurants Are permitted and which ones are not based on the political views of their owners we are living under tyranny.

Ps....it's not the role of government to determine who you can marry. Ergo I fully support gay marriage.

The only thing I find "chilling" or "Jaw-dropping" is that backwards intolerant people like Tim Pawlenty not only still exist in this day and age, but exist in such numbers as to be a political force.

Oh wait, they're called "Republicans"...

A couple of days ago was a headline in this news that San Francisco had a new Archbishop and that SF had 432,000 Catholics. I doubted this population claim, ( in these posts ). Subsequently, I contacted a fellow who gave me a population for San Francisco of 780,000-800,000 which is more reasonable since SF is restricted in land mass. Assuming 800,000, if the population was 20% Catholic ( national population stats ) there would be 160,000 Catholics in SF, not 432,000.

Assuming Catholics had a family of five, 2 adults and three children, that boils down to 32,000 adult Catholics in SF.

Enter BIOLOGY! You can't claim to be gay until at least you reach puberty, as your body would have no way of knowing. Since San Francisco is known to have a high population of gays, for this calculation let's say 15%. 15% of 800,000 is 120,000 gays in SF, or 4 times the number roughly of adult Catholics, as all gays would have to be construed to be biological adults, and all Catholics wouldn't.

So this is a closer estimate than 432,000 Catholics in San Francisco as reported a couple of days ago.

I'm not gay, nor would I be known to be much of a sympathizer, for other than the protection of minors in any political agenda. However, if I were a gay person in San Francisco and realized that politically my group outnumbered my opponent 4 to 1, I'd encourage my "people" to vote. Even if there are only as many gays in SF as there are adult aged Catholics, it would be pretty simple to nullify a Tim Pawlenty, Catholic Archbishop, or Chick-fil-A vote.

When you're playing chicken, it isn't car against chicken...it's car against car.

If a restaurant were to try to open in my town named the KKK, I would try to discourage them opening as well. Even though they would be protected under free speech. Talk about hypocrites, who was it that wanted to stop the construction of a Mosque in NY?

Wet Willy:

I agree. So I'll support the right of the chicken company to open a franchise in Boston when you support the right of Planned Parenthood to open a clinic in Mississippi.

Snakebone 2.35

Actually, my point is not to defend Chick Fil A but to address intolerance for the viewpoint or beliefs of others. This "progressive" fueled intolerance promotes a strategy of "attack and destroy" towards anyone that would dare disagree with their politically correct dogma.

As for Planned Parenthood opening clinics, I have no opinion on this issue and am content with the laws as they are written. It would seem opening clinics in Mississippi or anywhere else would be their right.

To tell you the Truth I am SICK to death of hearing all these "Biblical Opinions"! Give it a rest already. I can tolerate hearing it from every day people BUT when Businesses start putting their bigotry on the LOUDSPEAKER for everyone to hear, and then GET ALL UPSET WHEN people don't want to go to their business anymore............TOO FREAKING BAD.

This company put their opinion out for everyone to see it in blazing headlines, and then is completely upset that people won't go there anymore? Give me a break. Not everyone in this Country IS Christian and not every in this Country IS ANTI GAY......... I have never gone to Chick-Fil-A, and never will........ There are MILLIONS of businesses in this country and I am sure they ALL have an opinion but it is NOT GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE to tell the general Public how you personally feel.......it will offend at leas 50% of your customers......... Smart Business Owners keep their opinions to themselves, IF they want to keep their customers....

This is just more hypocrisy from the rightwing. If corporations are people, you can't have it both ways in regard to free speech. If I get involved in politics, donating to a campaign or what have you, it is on record. I have ZERO tolerance for companies or business owners (often cranky gazillionaires like Sheldon Adelson, Foster Freiss, etc.) that want to game the political system in their favor, but think they should be able to do so in secret and without repercussions.

Here's an excellent example. I never put bumper stickers on my vehicle, or any other indication of my political or religious views because I don't want to risk loss of business from clients who may see the bumper sticker, or disagree with something I may inadvertently say. Chick-Fil-A should NOT be any different.

That's what free speech is. Chick-Fil-A can take a political position, and consumers have the right to boycott them. And even then it's not a fair match--we saw this with Limbaugh and what it would take to actually throw him off the air. But free speech applies to EVERYONE, not a privileged few.

Voters can't "speak with their feet" unless there is transparency. The Teapublicans just blocked the bill to require transparency of SuperPAC donors, heck even blunders that Mr. Secret Romney refuses to reveal. Throw the Teapublicans out -- they are trying to destroy our country in so many ways, most of all democracy.

Let's get this straight, the guy that started Chic-Fil-A is a conservative, fundamentalist, Christian, who opposes gay marriage on the basis of scripture. Doesn't that mean he opposes heresy and blasphemy? If so, does that mean he opposes the candidacy of Mitt Romney? Mormonism is defined by all fundamentalist Christian denominations that I know of, and by the Catholic Church on the basis of the Book of Mormon, and the worship of "many Gods", as heresy, thereby making Mittsy a heretic.

Of course I will not be surprised if this "Fundamentalist" is a Romney supporter and big contributor, after all their belief system only applies to the "special groups" they designate as being undesirable.

Its not about people choosing not to eat there Feisty. You missed the point entirely (No suprise there). its about the government stepping in a suppressing a company because they have spoken out on their beliefs. Nothing wrong in standing up for your belief. There is something wrong with government suppression of beliefs though.