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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