Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Does Chick-Fil-A Have to be Politically Correct?

Photo by Mike Stewart / Associated Press
Chick-Fil-A is an openly Christian chain of restaurants. With that being said, they believe gay marriage is a sin. Because of this stance Boston's Mayor Thomas M. Menino said “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion,” Menino stated to the Boston Herald.

I'm not going to get into a religious debate, only point out that the problem here is, this is illegal. See, a business like Chick-Fil-A has a right to a belief. Menino stating that Chick-Fil-A is discriminating is an insinuation and not a fact. Unless there is evidence Chick-Fil-A is either not hiring gays or not serving them or giving them poor service (as a company policy or practice) there is no grounds for stating or insinuating that they discriminate. That could be grounds for a slander lawsuit.

There is nothing in the law that says business owners must believe any specific thing. You have Christian business owner, Atheist business owners,  gay business owners and the like. But there is nothing that says one has to believe or disbelieve a religious idea. So today's lesson will be about the way the free market works.

Chick-Fil-A,  is a chain of restaurants that openly espouse Christian values and ideologies. They don't hide it and it's been part of the company's identity for years. The way the free market works is that if a Chick-Fil-A comes to your town and you don't agree with their beliefs, then you don't shop there. If enough people don't shop there then the restaurant closes. Simple. So gays and gays supporters have to convince people they are right and that people shouldn't patronize their chains. The problem is, many people do agree with their stance and will still shop there as is their right.

BUT, the Mayor opens the city up for a lawsuit, because they are encroaching on Chick-Fil-A's religious freedom by openly discriminating against them. If the Mayor doesn't know this maybe he should take a class in business law. (I used to work for a Corporate Counsel law firm). It is unconstitutional and illegal for the Mayor to block Chick-Fil-A on the basis that they're religious beliefs don't fit into what he feels is the proper political mold.  It is Chick-Fil-A, that is being discriminated against.

-Nate