Just days after San Antonio City Council voted against allowing the opening of a Chick-Fil-A at their local airport, two other U.S. cities have joined in halting plans to bring the delicious, yet vicious, food chain into their airports.
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The restaurant can currently be found in 28 airports around the United States, but with the news that Chick-Fil-A is continuing to donate millions of dollars to organizations that uphold anti-LGBTQ+ philosophies it seems like a larger movement could be coming.
The Buffalo News reports that the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) will not allow for plans for a new Chick-Fil-A to continue at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. NFTA has also announced the plans for another restaurant at the Cheektowaga airport have been shelved.
Buffalo’s Democratic Assemblyman Sean M. Ryan said:
A publicly financed facility like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not the appropriate venue for a Chick-fil-A restaurant. We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to anti-discriminatory policies, and we’re confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future.
It was reported by Think Progress that Chick-Fil-A had made donations of more than $1.8 million to organizations such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Paul Anderson Youth Home, and the Salvation Army.
Christian Athletes spreads an anti-LGBTQ+ by requiring a ‘sexual purity’ policy that does not align with ‘homosexual acts’.
Paul Anderson Youth Home teaches that homosexuality is wrong and same-sex marriage goes against Jesus Christ and his values.
The Salvation Army has a history of opposing LGBTQ legal protections, but has since implemented a policy of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In an email, a representative from Chick-Fil-A sent a statement:
We do not have a political or social agenda or discriminate against any group. More than 145,000 people from different backgrounds and beliefs represent the Chick-fil-A brand. We embrace all people, regardless of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Still, the company is deep-frying their money into organizations that are anti-LGBTQ+.
Will other airports and cities across the U.S. follow the lead in protesting the Chick-Fil-A company.
H/T: The Buffalo News, Think Progress
What do you think?