The Patriot Post® · San Jose Vows to Make New Chick-fil-A the 'Gayest Ever'

By Todd Starnes ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/62431-san-jose-vows-to-make-new-chick-fil-a-the-gayest-ever-2019-04-16

The San Jose City Council has become the latest leftist government body to declare war on Chick-fil-A.

Last year city leaders signed off on a plan to allow Chick-fil-A to open a franchise at the local airport. When local gay leaders learned of the decision, they had a cow.

“This is public space,” gay-rights activist Paul Escobar told the Mercury News. “We know that this is a strong and inclusive community. We need to make sure that businesses there respect these values.”

And in San Jose, respecting their “values” means that Christian business owners must renounce their religious beliefs and pledge their allegiance to the rainbow flag.

The outrage stems from a fake-news report that Chick-fil-A provides financial assistance to organizations deemed as anti-gay hate groups. The so-called anti-gay hate groups listed in the fake-news story include the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

In recent days, lawmakers in Buffalo, New York, and San Antonio, Texas, have banned Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants in their airports.

The company said it does not “have a political or social agenda” and that “it embraces all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity,” CBN reports.

For the one-millionth time: There are no credible accusations that Chick-fil-A has ever discriminated against a gay customer or a gay employee. But these days, the truth is irrelevant.

San Jose leaders quickly realized they had offended the LGBT community, so they took immediate action.

Since they could not revoke the restaurant’s contract, they decided to post Gay Pride and Transgender Pride flags around the perimeter of the restaurant.

Councilman Raul Peralex told the Mercury News it will be the “gayest Chick-fil-A in the country.”

Former county supervisor Ken Yeager told the newspaper the flags would serve as “a counter-signal to the discrimination supported by Chick-fil-A.”

Now, most of the national news coverage has focused on the posting of the Gay Pride and Transgender Pride flags. However, the city council did something even more sinister.

Lawmakers voted to deny contract extensions at the airport to any restaurant that is not open seven days a week. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday so workers can attend church or spend time with their families.

The city attorney warned the council it would be entering dangerous First Amendment territory if it outright banned the restaurant because of its values. So it came up with the idea to target Chick-fil-A because it doesn’t operate seven days a week.

“As a result, the restaurant will only be allowed in the airport until 2026,” San Jose Inside reports.

In other words, the San Jose City Council effectively banned a well-respected and beloved company from doing business in the future because it disagrees with its corporate values.

Americans have a God-given, constitutional right to practice their religion in their homes, their church houses, and their places of business.

The public shaming and flogging of Chick-fil-A and other Christian-owned companies across the nation should alarm every freedom-loving person, gay or straight. The Leftists are marching us down a very dangerous road.

There was another time in world history when government leaders boycotted and shut down businesses over opposing viewpoints and beliefs and ethnicities. We cannot and we must not allow history to repeat itself.