In a move destined to invite a collective “huh?” from all sides of the political divide, a city councilman for the city of San Jose has declared that a new Chick-fil-A in the San Jose airport will be the “gayest in the country.”
Councilman Raul Peralez made the declaration at a city council meeting on Tuesday night in response to a heated debate over the Chick-fil-A opening in the city airport. Advocates of queer rights had protested the addition to the airport because of Chick-fil-A’s long opposition to LGBTQ equality.
“My heart just sank when I saw the construction wall,” said Ken Yeager, a former County Supervisor. “I’ve been doing LGBTQ rights activities for 35 years. I remember when this city was not welcoming and we’ve come a long way. I feel like this is a throwback to those times.” He also suggested hanging Pride Flags in and around the restaurant as a countermeasure to Chick-fil-A’s hostility.
Related: Chick-fil-A banned from another airport over continued donations to anti-LGBTQ groups
How about we take this to the next level?
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The city council eventually adopted Yeager’s suggestion, and though several members also voiced concern about the hateful policies of the fast-food chain, allowed the opening–planned for next month–to move forward. The council did, however, deny a request by Chick-fil-A to extend its initial contract at the airport by two years. Current agreements will allow the restaurant to operate at the San Jose Airport until 2026.
Though Chick-fil-A denies any homophobic policies, actions by the company suggest otherwise. The restaurant chain has donated millions of dollars to anti-LGBTQ causes over the years, and expressed opposition to marriage equality. The reputation of the company has caused airports in other states–notably Texas and New York–to block the opening of new Chick-fil-A locations over perceived homophobia.
dennynova
This pic is clickbait. Cick-fil-A will not honor this.
xanadude
How does this change anything? It is still OWNED by a homophobic bigot.
PoetDaddy
Exactly. Any money at all that goes to Chick-fil-A is a bullet shot at LGBTQ people and our civil and human rights.
youarederanged
@PoetDaddy
The fact that you are comparing buying a chicken sandwich to firing a bullet at gays says everything one needs to know about your ability to use logic. There are actual violent things happening to gays and I’m pretty sure ordering a sweet tea isn’t one of them.
Juanjo
I see that “youarederanged” is unclear in logic or rhetoric.
RIGay
So… the restaurant that we were told was banned in the San Jose airport is getting ready for the “Grand Opening” in a month? Good ban, there!
God Bless that giant “Ca-CHING!” at the CfA cash registers.
A$$holes.
fur_hunter
I don’t care how they decorate, Chick-Fil-A is still a homophobic company. Their actions speak volumes. We still need to boycott them. Cracker Barrel is another one along with Red Lobster. If I remember correctly, Cracker Barrel fired an outstanding manager when upper management found out she was a lesbian. I still will not buy Miller beer for donating a chunk of change to the Jesse Helms Center in North Carolina.
one more thing
I thinks it’s been over 20 years since I’ve been to a Crackle Barrel, I guess they are still in business though….
Catholicslutbox
Not surprising. They probably upped their bid to stay open.
Plastering pride flags around does nothing to counter the companies funding of anti-gay causes.
-then again, there are a lot of gay that knowingly still frequent that chain as their rights are secured in the liberal bubbles they live in. Slaughtered, blood-stained, deep-fried chickens just taste “too good.”
Right now the “fight” for equality is focused on trans-rights, but to the white-gays, that doesn’t apply- so, who cares?
MacAdvisor
“The restaurant chain has donated millions of dollars to anti-LGBTQ causes over the years, and expressed opposition to marriage equality.”
This statement is factually untrue. The restaurant donates money to the Chick-fil-A Foundation (www.chick-fil-afoundation.org), an entirely separate organization that is a registered, supervised 501(c)(3) charity. Additionally, Chick-fil-A itself does not donate to political causes. The founder and owner, however, does, but he is not the company nor the foundation. Moreover, most of the restaurants themselves are privately owned franchisees. As far as I can tell from the record, the company Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against gay people. The franchisee who will have the airport location absolutely won’t (it is against the law here).
When protesting behavior, one should aim for accuracy.
Gary Q VV
Educate yourself before committing. You’ve made yourself seem gullible.
yaletownman
Hmmm, kind of consulted but it does bring up some further questions.
Why does the company not denounce what ifs namesake foundation and it’s founder Donates to? Why do the franchisee’s not denounce the same? Why do doesn’t the franchisees and the parent company not do PR work to counteract this and clean up their image?
youarederanged
Just go to the Hollywood Chick-fil-A location and you’ll see all sorts of LGBTQ ordering from there daily. There is no boycott from our community, despite the extremists trying with all their might to create one. The chicken is good and same-sex marriage is legal nationwide, so just get over it already.
Tombear
I know several gay and straight people who won’t eat at this place so the boycott is not over.
Catholicslutbox
The majority of the people are oblivious to the company’s/owner’s stance, and the ones that do know, don’t care.
They’re more interested in satiating their glutenous desires.
“X doesn’t affect me, so why should I care?”
andy0529
Never eaten there……So guess your full of zhit.
PanzerRider
The daily dose of gay hysteria over a chicken sandwich. Thanks Queerty. Here’s a thought. If you have issue with their politics don’t eat there. Going into cardiac arrest every time this website rolls out another article about chicken sandwich homophobia will take years off your life. Quit looking for ways to be bothered and upset.
UlfRaynor
Yeah gay people, bury your heads in the sand and pretend nothings wrong and for Gods sake don’t rock the boat and stand up for yourselves, it might upset str8 people and str8 wanna be’s.
Juanjo
Honey – go ride a panzer and let the adults talk among themselves.
Gary Q VV
-MacAdvisor- Don’t advise unless you’re qualified. You need to dig a lot deeper into your research of Chick-fil-A and its support of anti-LGBTQ activism. You don’t grasp the fact that an owner benefits from profits of a company and has great influences on that company’s philosophies and practices. As CEO of one of the nation’s largest family owned businesses, Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy represents the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta-based fast-food chicken restaurant chain founded by his father, S. Truett Cathy who was a “homophobic grand dragon” (a figure of speech, yet true). Dan Cathy has become the new dragon. So don’t be a de facto-troll and eat your rights away by “eating tainted chicken “. Of course, I’m using Chick-fil-A as an example of evidence that there are dozens of other companies that want to destroy the LGBTQ community and they know how to deceive and hide their evils and foul doings. Wake up Queers and fight for what we’ve gained. Freedoms can be lost more easily than attained.
whateverokok
I’m sure eating some fried chicken from a fast food restaurant is going to get millions of gays killed ala the holocaust or something. We’re talking about fried chicken folks. What some people manage to get upset over baffles the mind. If you truly feel that supporting something or someone with ties to organizations that will harm you is a bad thing then I suggest you don’t buy anything, live anywhere, work, or pay taxes. Cause just about everyone supports something that is harmful to people. How about the many people you support that is ruining the environment? What do gay rights matter if there is nowhere to live to enjoy it?
ShowMeGuy
Rainbow decorations everywhere, a pet cat lounge, and gloryholes in the men’s room does NOT make a place “the gayest place ever”. The corporate family head is a bunch of fauxmericans and their attitude is what needs a good renovation.
ArtNYC
It’s just window dressing. Shouldn’t let them open.
youarederanged
Some people don’t like gays. So fine, don’t go to their business. But ban them from opening? This is America, right?
DCguy
Profits from this store go directly to the arm of the corporation that donate millions to anti-LGBT hate groups including the group supporting the push for the bill to legalize murdering gays in Uganda.
youarederanged
@DCguy
You are wrong. The group you are talking about is Exodus International, and this is straight from Wikipedia:
“In 2009, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer and two other evangelical Christians traveled to Uganda to speak at a conference on homosexuality, informing thousands of attendees that homosexuality was “evil” and could be “cured”. A month later a Ugandan politician, with the help of the organizers of the conference, introduced what became known as the “Kill the Gays” bill. If passed, the bill would have made homosexuality punishable by death.[54] Close to a year later, Chambers expressed regret for the organization’s involvement, and spoke out against the proposed bill.[55]”
Gary Q VV
–youarederanged– Don’t you know what and how “Wikipedia” works? Julian Assange’s Wikipedia website is a “Trollers Dreamworld” and you can’t rely on any information from any “Wiki” source, especially “Wikileaks.”With all these unsubstantiated and unverifiable statements, contributions and edits, you end up with gobbledygook.
youarederanged
@Gary Q VV
Sorry bud, but Wikipedia and Wikileaks are not the same thing. You’re confusing the two. And just so you know, courts in America have been using Wikipedia citations for years now, including Federal Appeals courts.
truthseeker
LOL
Gary Q VV thinks Wikipedia and Wikileaks are the same thing and both owned by Julian Assange?? HAHAHAHA
And then he has the nerve to tell others in the comments that they need to educate themselves and that they shouldn’t speak unless they’re informed. HAHAHAHA
Gary Q VV
To all Queerty contributors: In my aforementioned comment regarding the validity of the “Wiki” kerfuffle, when I mentioned Julian Assange’s Wikipedia – I instead meant Wikimedia’s Wikipedia. And, I meant to write Julian Assange’s Wikileaks. When you realize that “wiki” denotes a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users that’s not peer reviewed, you have to question whether or not that information is relevant and reliable.