I honestly don't know much about how these things are decided, but I'm hopeful that the Mayor wouldn't have sent that letter without checking the legality of it.
I always thought the city council had to vote on these things also.
Does the community have a legal say if they want a certain business to open? If I wanted to open an Adult video Store in downtown Branson Missouri would the residents or Mayor have a legal say? If I wanted to open a Gay Pride store next door to the local church would I have any say in the matter?
I would guess the Mayor of Boston could make the same argument.
'There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently'
-Robert Evans-
I'm not a legal mind, which is why I asked the question. I think it would be a lot easier to keep out an Adult Video Store or a Gay Pride store than a Chick Fil A just about anywhere in this country.
I think the difference is that you can keep ALL adult video stores out of an area using zoning rules. But keeping SOME restaurants out while letting others in is different.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
If I wanted to open an Adult video Store in downtown Branson Missouri would the residents or Mayor have a legal say? If I wanted to open a Gay Pride store next door to the local church would I have any say in the matter?
You'd have to check the zoning laws first. And in many cases, residents do have the right to petition a new business. Usually, they have to state their cause in the petition and with the required signatures, can present their petition to the City and state their position in a public Council meeting.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
I've had mixed feelings since I heard about the mayor's response (though I was mostly glad he said it).
I feel better seeing the actual letter, which doesn't seem to contain any threats or legal langauge--just "there's no place for you in a city that doesn't believe in the discrimination you cherish."
Whether he has the power to stop them or not--or whether he should exercise that power if he does--is a different question. Certainly one I'm not prepared to weigh in on. But I like the letter.
CFA fights back- playing the (let's call it) "Church Card":
The leader of a Christian group today said Ald. Joe Moreno displayed hypocrisy for his decision to deny Chick-fil-A the right to open in his ward because of the chain restaurant president’s opposition to gay marriage.
“It’s hypocritical,” said David Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, which opposes gay marriage. “Here’s the alderman turning around and being intolerant and discriminatory because somebody has a different view than he does. Would he do that to a Muslim company?”
“I think what Ald. Moreno is doing is terrible,” Smith said. “He is playing partisan politics. He is pandering to a segment of his district or his ward, and he’s actually not helping his overall community by refusing to help develop that part of the ward to bring in jobs and to bring in tax revenue. It’s like cutting your nose off to spite your face, all because Mr. Cathy spouted his opinion about same-sex marriage.” If you want a fight we ain't chikn!
That's the other thing about this weird strain of Christian - when they give money to organizations that have no purpose except to eff up the lives of gay people, that's just them practicing "Freedom of Religion." Any objection to that is "intolerance"!
Well Phylis, Christian groups get persecuted mercilessly- even simple chicken stands that support Christianity. Them Muslins get to do whatever they please and you cain't say a word agin them.
Well, that's the thing. SO many Christians believe that a fundamental part of practicing their religion is to get OTHERS to practice it, too. So anyone saying, "Um, no," is now immediately intolerant.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Chick-Fil-A is getting LOTS of free press this week.
'There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently'
-Robert Evans-
'There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently'
-Robert Evans-
The retort to that is that the law against eating pork is only in the Old Testament. Then you say, well so is the Leviticus quote about man with another man. Then they say well the New Testament also has verses to support the oppression of gay people.
Well neither are "Christians", so we're even. And I'm pretty sure it says the F-Word in a book I read so if they can quote a book they like, I can quote one I like. I think it was something by Stephen King...
I agree with you, Jordan, but this debate has already been set up so that the Christians get to define how it's debated, so I don't see a lot of hope.
Even the whole Chick Fil A thing gets distorted. You'd be hard pressed to find a conservative or christian report on it that acts like people are up in arms because the company is "Christian" - not because they give money to anti-gay organizations.
But remember, tolerating intolerance is a must and Christians are the most persecuted people in this country.