Second Airport Bans Chick-fil-A for 'Discrimination'
After a Democratic New York State assemblyman said that a plan allowing a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Buffalo’s airport was tantamount to sanctioning discrimination against the LGBTQ population, officials backed down and said the restaurant will not be at the airport after all.
As Chick-fil-A spreads across the Northeast, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority had already approved plans from Delaware North, which oversees the food vendors at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, to add the popular restaurant to their airport.
But Assemblyman Sean Ryan, who according to the Buffalo News is working to get the airport $100 million in the state budget for capital projects, objected.
“I don’t believe the leadership of the NFTA intends to help spread hate and discrimination, but allowing a corporation like Chick-fil-A to do business at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport will help to fund continued divisive anti-LGBTQ rhetoric,” Ryan said in a statement on Thursday. “New York is a welcoming state that celebrates diversity.”
“The views of Chick-fil-A do not represent our state or the Western New York community, and businesses that support discrimination have no place operating in taxpayer-funded public facilities. Once again, I urge you to reverse this decision and identify a different restaurant to operate at the airport,” Ryan said.
By Friday, the chicken deal was dead, according to New York Upstate.
“A publicly financed facility like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not the appropriate venue for a Chick-fil-A restaurant,” Ryan said in his Friday statement.
“I applaud the decision that has been made to remove Chick-fil-A from the plans for this project. We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to anti-discrimination policies, and we’re confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future,” he wrote.
Not everyone agreed with the decision.
Fascist-alism: When agendas rather than the strength or weakness of the good or service offered becomes the deciding factor in the marketplace …https://t.co/Xw6n0AhwjC
— Chris Cappannelli, Ed.D. (@DoctorCappy) March 30, 2019
So apparently holding Christian beliefs will cause you to lose Airport concession contracts.https://t.co/0QLpwUDg4N https://t.co/IVqKhO8JOq
— Drkstknght (@Drkstknght1) March 30, 2019
NY is a welcoming state. In fact Albany Airport welcomed a Chick-fil-A to serve their travelers. 31 airports across the US welcomed a Chick-fil-A. Once again Buffalo is screwed over by a self serving politician pandering for votes.
— Jim Bankowski (@jimbo_banko) March 29, 2019
A Chick-fil-A statement said some media coverage “drives an inaccurate narrative” about it.
“We do not have a political or social agenda or discriminate against any group,” the statement said. “More than 145,000 people from different backgrounds and beliefs represent the Chick-fil-A brand. We embrace all people, regardless of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.“
Although airport travelers will be denied Chick-fil-A’s brand of chicken, the chain operates a restaurant in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga. That venue, according to the Buffalo News, “still draws overflow crowds and long lines at its drive-thru.”
The airport controversy is much like one in San Antonio, where politicians barred Chick-fil-A from the city’s airport. That decision drew a sharp response from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The City of San Antonio’s decision to exclude Chick-fil-A based on the religious beliefs associated with the company and its owners is the opposite of tolerance. It’s discriminatory, and not only out of step with Texas values, but inconsistent with the Constitution and Texas law. pic.twitter.com/iOk7G9Eltv
— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 28, 2019
“The Constitution’s protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A’s chicken,” Paxton wrote in a letter to San Antonio officials. “Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport.”
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