Dan Cathy, the president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A,
the fast-food chain based in Atlanta, recently dragged his company into the
middle of the same-sex marriage debate. He told one interviewer that the
country is “inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him
and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.’ ” Antigay
remarks like these are offensive. But they are not a reason to kick the company
out of town, as the officials in Boston and Chicago have threatened to do.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has the
correct take on the matter. Mr. Cathy and his family have long supported
efforts to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. Mr. Bloomberg worked hard
for marriage equality in New York State. But, said Mr. Bloomberg, “You can’t
have a test for what the owners’ personal views are before you decide to give a
permit to do something in the city.”
Other officials were considerably less sensitive
to the fact that controversial, even hurtful, political views are protected by
the First Amendment. One Chicago alderman unwisely threatened to try to use his
powers over city businesses to shut out future Chick-fil-A franchises.
Speaker Christine Quinn of the New York City
Council also overreached when she sent a letter, on Council stationery, calling
for the president of New York University to “sever your relationship” with a
Chick-fil-A eatery on campus. “Let me be clear,” she wrote, “I do not want
establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views.”
As a gay woman who recently got married, Ms.
Quinn’s anger about Mr. Cathy’s comments is understandable. And she stressed on
Monday that the letter was “solely my own opinion.” But, as a powerful city
leader and a leading candidate for mayor, she and others in city governments
should take care not to be seen muscling aside businesses whose owners don’t
agree with their views. That won’t work, especially in a city as big, diverse
and opinionated as New York.
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