Ever since Chick-fil-A moved out of Denver International Airport a decade ago, travelers have been lobbying for its return. Its popularity is legendary — it ranked No. 2 in a survey recently taken to decide on new airport food concessions.
Chick-fil-A wants back in, but this week Denver’s City Council blocked the routine approval of the lease while it studies its “business practices.” Its sin is that in 2012 its now-CEO Dan Cathy opposed same-sex marriage. A charity associated with the company also gave money to groups opposing same-sex marriage.
Since then, Chick-fil-A has stopped such donations and Cathy has said he regrets any involvement by the company in politics. The company that will manage any outlet at the airport has pledged to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
But that’s not enough for the PC Left in Denver. Not one of the ten city-council members attending a hearing spoke up for the company’s seven-year lease, and several bashed it.
Councilman Paul Lopez called blocking the lease as “really, truly a moral issue on the city.” Councilman Jolon Clark sniffed that “we can do better than this brand in Denver at our airport, in my estimation.” Councilwoman Robin Kniech worried the chain would use its profits “to fund and fuel discrimination.” None commented on an airport study which predicted a single Chick-fil-A outlet at Denver’s airport would generate $4.1 million in annual sales and net the city $616,000 a year in fees.
Chick-fil-A has been pummeled by the Left in other cities, with officials in Chicago, Boston and San Francisco trying to bar its stores. Sanity eventually prevailed after lawyers working for those cities warned of the First Amendment implications of barring a business on the basis of political prejudice.