United States government On May 29, 2019, the
Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Civil Rights opened investigations into two airports (
Buffalo Niagara International Airport and
San Antonio International Airport) for excluding
Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants due to the company's long history of supporting and funding anti-LGBTQ organizations. Federal requirements prohibit airport operators from excluding persons, on the basis of religious creed, from participating in airport activities that receive or benefit from FAA grant funding.
Local government After the publication of Cathy's interviews, Democrat
Thomas Menino, the
Mayor of
Boston, stated that he would not allow the company to open franchises in the city "unless they open up their policies." Menino subsequently wrote a letter to Dan Cathy, citing Cathy's earlier statement on
The Ken Coleman Show, and responded: "We are indeed full of pride for our support of same sex marriage and our work to expand freedom for all people." In Chicago, Democratic alderman
Proco Joe Moreno announced his determination to block Chick-fil-A's bid to build a second store in the city: "They'd have to do a complete 180", Moreno said in outlining conditions under which he would retract the block. "They'd have to work with
LGBT groups in terms of hiring, and there would have to be a public apology from [Cathy]." Moreno received backing from Chicago's Mayor,
Rahm Emanuel: "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values", Emanuel said in a statement. "They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty."
San Francisco soon followed suit on July 26, 2012, when mayor Democrat
Edwin M. Lee tweeted, "Very disappointed #ChickFilA doesn't share San Francisco's values & strong commitment to equality for everyone." Lee followed that tweet with "Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer." Later the same month,
Washington D.C. mayor Democrat
Vincent C. Gray continued the trend by announcing Chick-fil-A is not welcome in his city, and proceeded to call it "hate chicken". The proposed bans in Boston and Chicago drew criticism from some liberal pundits, legal experts, and the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Kevin Drum of
Mother Jones magazine said "[T]here's really no excuse for Emanuel's and Menino's actions... you don't hand out business licenses based on whether you agree with the political views of the executives. Not in America, anyway ... what makes this whole situation so weird is that Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy has always opposed gay marriage. He's a devout Southern Baptist, just like his father, who founded the company. The place is closed on Sundays, for crying out loud. There's just nothing new here."
UCLA law professor and blogger
Eugene Volokh observed, "[D]enying a private business permits because of such speech by its owner is a blatant First Amendment violation." Echoing those views were
Glenn Greenwald of
Salon, professor John Turley of
The George Washington University Law School, Adam Schwartz, a senior attorney with the ACLU, and Michael C. Dorf, the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell University Law School. In March 2019, Texas attorney general,
Ken Paxton, opened an investigation after the city of
San Antonio decided to reject the application for Chick-fil-A to open a store at
San Antonio International Airport because of the company's stand on LGBT issues. This stand was publicly taken by 2 out of the 10 city council members. The city's mayor,
Ron Nirenberg, stated his concern was that Chick-fil-A wasn't open on Sunday. It was not until mid-August 2019 that city officials agreed to release documents about its decision to exclude the company from the airport "based on the restaurant chain's donations to religious ministries". On June 10, 2019, Texas governor
Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 1978, colloquially known as the "Save Chick-fil-A Bill", which forbids local governments from taking adverse steps against companies or individuals based on their religious beliefs. On September 5, a group of five individuals filed suit against the City of San Antonio citing this new law.
Backlash Students at several colleges and universities launched efforts to ban or remove the company's restaurants from their campuses. On November 3, 2011,
New York University's Student Senators Council voted 19 to 4 to retain the Chick-fil-A franchise on campus. This vote came before a petition with over 11,000 signatures opposing its presence on campus was sent to the student council.
Christine Quinn, a lesbian politician and then-Speaker of the
City Council who was seeking the nomination as Democratic candidate for the mayoralty in the next election, was outspoken in her opposition to keeping the Chick-fil-A franchise or allowing others, and wrote a letter to this effect to NYU President
John Sexton on official letterhead, opening with the words, "I write as the Speaker of the NYC Council", urging NYU to evict a Chick-fil-A due to Cathy's opposition to same-sex marriage. On February 28, 2012,
Northeastern University's Student Senate passed a resolution to cancel plans for a Chick-fil-A franchise on its campus, stating "the student body does not support bringing CFA [Chick-fil-A] to campus", and "Student concerns reflected CFA's history of donating to anti-gay organizations." The vote was 31 to 5, with 8 abstaining. The restaurant chain was finalizing a contract to bring it to NU when students protested.
Davidson College in North Carolina announced on August 13, 2012, that, in response to a petition which received 500 signatures, the school would stop serving Chick-fil-A on campus at the monthly "After Midnight" events. Other forms of protest occurred. Gay rights activists organized a "Kiss Off" to occur on August 3, an event where LGBTQ individuals would show affection in public. On August 15, 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II of Virginia entered the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the
Family Research Council carrying 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches, a 9 mm handgun, and a box of ammunition. After being asked for identification, he shot a security guard in the left arm and was wrestled to the ground by that same guard. Prosecutors said he told FBI agents that he wanted to use the sandwiches to "make a statement against the people who work in that building ... and with their stance against gay rights and Chick-fil-A", and that he planned "to kill as many people as I could ... then smear a Chicken-fil-A [sic] sandwich on their face". In 2018, Chick-fil-A announced their expansion to Canada in the city of Toronto. This caused a number of boycotts and backlash from Canadians due to widespread support for LGBTQ rights in Canada. In August 2019, the
Toronto Star ran an opinion piece, written by its National Columnist (staff), with the headline "Chick-fil-A is about to open in Toronto. I hope it fails". She said that comment was made because the company was operated by "someone who dislikes 'my lifestyle' as Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy would probably refer to my lesbianism". The store opened on September 6, 2019, on Yonge St. at Bloor St. in Toronto, with
LGBTQ2S protesters in attendance, complaining about the company's "history of supporting anti-LGBTQ causes", according to the
Toronto Star. At that time, the company confirmed its plan to open 14 others in the
Greater Toronto Area over the subsequent five years. On November 18, 2019, it was reported that Chick-fil-A would stop donating to the Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes,
Corporate partners In response to the July 2, 2012, interview, the
Jim Henson Company, which had entered its
Pajanimals in a
kids' meal toy licensing arrangement in 2011, said that it would cease its business relationship with Chick-fil-A, and donate payment for the brand to
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Citing safety concerns, Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the toys. A spokeswoman stated the decision had been made on July 19 and was unrelated to the controversy. In August 2012, petitions with over 80,000 signatures were delivered to publisher
HarperCollins demanding the publisher cut plans to include
Berenstain Bears titles as part of a kids' meal promotion. Upon being presented with petitions demanding that Berenstain Bears be pulled from a Chick-fil-A promotion, HarperCollins issued a statement saying "We have a long history of diversity and inclusiveness and work tirelessly to protect the freedom of expression. It is not our practice to cancel a contract with an author, or any other party, for exercising their first amendment rights."
Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day In response to the controversy, in 2012 former Arkansas Governor
Mike Huckabee initiated a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day movement to counter a boycott of Chick-fil-A launched by same-sex marriage activists. More than 600,000 people RSVPed on Facebook for Huckabee's appreciation event.
Public polling In August 2012, conservative-leaning polling group
Rasmussen Reports published the results of a telephone survey indicating that 61 percent of likely voters held a favorable view of Chick-fil-A, while 13 percent indicated they would participate in a boycott.
Others Other notable public figures came to Chick-fil-A's defense, including former Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin, former US Senator
Rick Santorum, and
Ann Coulter; while New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg publicly disagreed with Cathy's positions but defended his right to express them under the First Amendment.
Financial effect Sales increased after the controversy. According to news coverage: In addition Chick-fil-A was able to expand throughout the rest of the 2010s and into the 2020s despite the controversy and growing acceptance of LGBT people in the United States.
October 2019 closure of UK location On October 18, 2019, it was announced that Chick-fil-A's location at
the Oracle, Reading, in
Reading, Berkshire, the first location in the
United Kingdom, would close due to the Oracle not renewing their lease. The announcement was made only eight days after the location first opened, and had been preceded by severe criticism from LGBTQ rights activists in Reading and elsewhere in the UK. According to a Chick-fil-A spokesperson, the company had always intended to only be at Reading for a six month pilot period. ==References==