Several Chick-fil-A supporters have filed a lawsuit against the city of San Antonio for banning the fast food chain from opening up shop in a local airport.
In March, six members of the San Antonio City Council denied the inclusion of Chick-fil-A from the new Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement for the local airport because of the chain’s alleged “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
“With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion,” Councilman Roberto Treviño said. “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
“Everyone has a place here, and everyone should feel welcome when they walk through our airport,” he added.
Chick-fil-A provided a statement about the decision to Fox News.
“The press release issued by Councilmember Treviño was the first we heard of his motion and its approval by the San Antonio City Council. We agree with him that everyone is and should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A,” a spokesperson said. “We have a fundamental code of conduct at Chick-fil-A: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“We would still welcome the opportunity to have a thoughtful dialogue with the city council and plan to reach out to them. It’s unfortunate that mischaracterizations of our brand have led to decisions like this,” the spokesperson added.
The lawsuit requests for the court to rule that San Antonio violated and continues to violate the law by banning Chick-fil-A from the San Antonio airport.
“The continued religious ban on Chick-fil-A by the San Antonio City Council has left citizens with no choice but to take this case to court,” Jonathan Saenz, president of conservative group Texas Values Action said. “Any other vendor that tries to replace Chick-fil-A at the airport will be doing so under a major cloud of long and costly litigation with the city.”
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