Update: City Council Speaker Chris Quinn said she’s still standing strong to her desire to see Chick-fil-A leave New York, but admitted yesterday that she has no legal power to kick the ant-gay marriage chain out of town.
“I don’t want businesses that hold discriminatory views and feelings, but I don’t have any legal recourse or reason to block this company,” Quinn said Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News.
And NYU head spokesman John Beckman hinted yesterday for the first time that the fast-food shop may not be on the NYU campus for much longer.
Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy’s comments “are out of step with NYU’s views on this matter,” Beckman said, according to the Daily News. The school’s University Senate will “reexamine” this fall whether to keep the chain on campus.
“The University Administration will ask the University Senate to take up the issue of Chick-fil-A’s status on campus again when it reconvenes this fall to make a recommendation on how to proceed,” Beckman said, according to FOX.
In response to today’s “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” launched by Mike Huckabee, GLAAD started its own campaign for “National Same-Sex Kiss Day.”
Same-sex couples are encouraged to take a photo of themselves kissing in any Chick-fil-A restaurants and post it online.
Quinn is the latest politician to jump into the national escalating Chick-fil-A fray.
On Saturday, Quinn launched an online petition that declares Chick-fil-A is not welcome in the city, as long as the fast food chain’s leaders continue to espouse anti-gay marriage views.
“I think we are 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,'” said Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy in a radio interview.
As of Sunday afternoon, Quinn’s petition had garnered 392 signatures. Her opposition to the chain is notable, as Quinn is a strong contender to be the city’s next mayor.
The only Chick-fil-A in the five boroughs is part of New York University’s campus. A Chick-fil-A outpost operates in an NYU dining hall just off the 8th Street subway stop.
As part of her campaign, Quinn also sent a letter to NYU President John Sexton on Saturday, urging him to sever the school’s relationship with the franchise.
“Let me be clear — I do not want establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views,” Quinn, who is a lesbian, wrote in the letter.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on the other hand, has different opinions on the controversy swirling around the fast food joint. Bloomberg said he didn’t think it was the role of the government to restrict private business based on beliefs held by the business owner.
“It’s just not the government’s job,” the mayor said Friday on WOR radio’s “John Gambling Show.” “And no matter how much you dislike somebody else’s views, think about what would happen in the cities where the views are on the other side.”
Chick-fil-A controversy
Quinn is only the latest to weigh in on the Chick-fil-A debate:
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote a letter to Dan Cathy, telling him that the fast-food franchise is not welcome on Boston’s Freedom Trail.
Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno said Chick-fil-A won’t be allowed to open its first location in the city if they do not come up with an anti-discrimination policy.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also vowed to block the chain’s plan to build a new restaurant in the Windy City.
Sarah Palin uploaded a photo to Facebook Saturday featuring her and man holding Chick-fil-A bags. She also tweeted “Stopped by Chick-fil-A in The Woodlands to support a great business.”
San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee tweeted, “Closest #ChickFilA to San Franciso is 40 miles away and I strongly recommend that they try not to come any closer.”
