Yet another blow to free speech

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When we first got wind of this we thought, “Wow, that kiss-in thing really worked?” Then we read about it and almost became physically ill.

We can’t begin to describe our disgust in the following:


From NPR, Chicago:

Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno says he will no longer stand in the way of Chick-fil-A opening a restaurant in his ward since it will stop making donations to groups that oppose gay marriage. It was a month ago that supporters filled Chick-fil-A restaurants and gay activists protested after the CEO of the restaurant chain said he opposed same-sex marriage.



RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And Chick-fil-A fast food restaurants became the focus a few weeks ago of protests and counter-protests, after the CEO of the restaurant chain said he opposed same-sex marriage. Now, after a change in policy the chain, a Chicago alderman says he will no longer stand in the way of Chick-fil-A opening in his neighborhood.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: There's just one Chick-fil-A restaurant in Chicago. The second will be located here, on Chicago's northwest side. After months of negotiating, Alderman Joe Moreno says he's fine with the company locating here.

ALDERMAN JOE MORENO: They had funded groups that were outspokenly, in my opinion, hateful, and one of their offers was, look, we're not going to give to these groups anymore.

CORLEY: The Alderman says Chick-fil-A also took a step forward when it said, in an internal company document, the company will treat every person with respect, regardless of their beliefs or sexual orientation.

Anthony Martinez the executive director of the Civil Rights Agenda, an LGBT advocacy group in Illinois, also calls that a good first step, but says...

ANTHONY MARTINEZ: We would still like to see them have an anti-discrimination policy in their company manual.

CORLEY: That would address what Martinez says has been a culture of discrimination at Chick-fil-A.

The restaurant chain declined to comment beyond offering a statement saying it planned to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.

This is not a matter of Chik-fil-A changing their stance with respect to who it is they give their money to. This isn’t about gay marriage. This isn’t even about a change of heart brought about by public pressure. The only thing this is about is a company caving to open threats made by elected officials. This is sickening. Chik-fil-A laid down and allowed thugs like this Moreno, the Chicago mayor, Rahm Emmanuel and the one from Boston, Thomas Menino, their victory of intimidation.

In the comment section of the article, there is a debate regarding whether or not Chik-fil-A is really going to shut down its funding to outfits like Focus on the Family. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. The moment that Chik-fil-A sat down at the table with Moreno, the damage had been done. The moment they sat down and gave even the appearance that they were negotiating in any way, shape or form, the thought police mentality of the statist thugs represented by Moreno and his ilk had won.

This is horrible. This sends a signal that the un-American and quite simply, the illegal behavior of denying a business license on the grounds that you don’t like what somebody thinks, says or does will be complied with. So, this went down with Chik-fil-A. What’s to stop tyrants like Moreno from squeezing other businesses? And what’s to stop him from, umm, broadening the aperture to muscle companies that give to outfits that advocate against abortion as an example.

From our vantage point, not a whole hell of a lot because we are shocked in the casual, ho-hum manner in which this was all handled.