A new report details the massive amount of money the city of San Antonio has allegedly spent thus far in order to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant at an airport because six members of the city council believes the popular fast-food franchise is “anti-LGBTQ.”
Chick-fil-A, which recently became the nation’s third-largest fast-food franchise, has been under perpetual fire from the progressive left because of the traditional Christian views of its owners and its charitable arm’s donations to Christian organizations, including some that have expressed traditional views on marriage and sexuality. Though Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against LGBT customers and employs LGBT individuals, it has been branded as “anti-LGBTQ” by the left.
Among those who have condemned the franchise are six members of San Antonio’s city council, who voted last March to ban the franchise from opening a restaurant at the San Antonio International Airport, citing its supposed “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
“With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion,” the city council declared in a press release, announcing its 6-4 vote. “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
The decision sparked two lawsuits and a federal investigation, and, according to calculations by CBS-affiliate KENS5, has thus far cost more than $300,000 in legal fees. “According to the latest numbers, to day, the city has paid at least $315,000, with other invoices pending,” the outlet reports.
Days after the council’s decision in March to exclude the franchise, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation, while multiple Texas political figures publicly condemned the city council’s discriminatory move, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R).
The details of this story are even worse. San Antonio City Council voted to ban @ChickfilA from the airport bc the company gave to...the Fellowship of Christian Athletes & the Salvation Army?!? That’s ridiculous. And not Texas. #LeftistIntolerance usnews.com/news/national-…
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Among the reasons cited for labeling the company “anti-LGBTQ” was its donations to Christian charities, particularly the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, which were listed a day earlier in a report by left-wing site Think Progress on Chick-fil-A’s 2017 tax filings.
In a decision met with backlash from the company’s large number of faith-based fans, Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos announced in November that the foundation was no longer going to donate to the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Paul Anderson Youth Home.
“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tassopoulos said. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”
As noted by Fox Business, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy has since admitted that the chain “inadvertently discredited” groups with the decision.
“We understand how some thought we were abandoning our longstanding support of faith-based organization,” Cathy wrote in a Dec. 5 letter to American Family Association President Tim Wildmon. “We inadvertently discredited several outstanding organizations that have effectively served communities for years.”
“The intent of our corporate giving has always been to have impact — not to make a statement or support a political or social agenda,” wrote Cathy. “Chick-fil-A will give to faith-based and other organizations that we believe to be highly effective in a particular area.”
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