Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.
(J. Scott Applewhite - AP)
“Hate chicken” is how D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray described Chick-fil-A on Friday afternoon, situating himself squarely in a growing bloc of U.S. city mayors around the country exhibiting a political and moral stance against the fast food chain for its opposition to gay marriage.
“Given my long standing strong support for LGBT rights and marriage equality, I would not support #hatechicken,” Gray wrote in a post on his Twitter account Friday afternoon.
Gray is now the fifth mayor to speak up publicly on the issue since Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy reiterated his belief in the biblical definition of marriage in an interview earlier this month.
Earlier Friday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he isn’t planning to block the fast food chain from his city, following remarks by mayors representing San Francisco, Boston and Chicago denouncing the Atlanta-based restaurant chain for its anti-same-sex marriage values.
In spite of Bloomberg’s support of same-sex marriage, he said Friday morning on his radio show that “it’s inappropriate for a city government or a state government or the federal government to look at somebody’s political views and decide whether or not they can live in the city or operate a business in the city or work for somebody in the city.” Bloomberg’s even-handed sentiment stands apart from the damning remarks and open threats that Chick-fil-A has received in recent days from the mayors of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. In the past two weeks, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have pledged to block the restaurant chain in their cities in response to Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s admission in recent interviews that he supports the biblical definition of marriage and not same-sex marriage
.From Emanuel: “Chick-Fil-A values are not Chicago values.”
From Menino: “There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Fredom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.”
On Thursday night, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee joined the fray with a posting on his Twitter account: “Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer.”
Menino later said there’s not much he can do to actually stop Chick-fil-A from opening in Boston. Emanuel later said he wouldn’t block Chick-fil-A from opening in Chicago.
During his radio show Friday morning, Bloomberg said Emanuel, Menino and Lee “really are good mayors,” but that “trampling on the freedom to marry whoever you want is exactly the same as trampling on your freedom to open a store.
Follow Gregory Thomas on Twitter: @gregrthomas
Read more from the Post’s On Faith section:
Chick-fil-A food fight rages on
’Chick-fil-A’ day amidst gay marriage debate
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