US University votes to ban fast-food chain for marriage support
The student government of a North Carolina University has voted to ban a fast-food restaurant from its campus because the company’s president expressed his support for marriage.
Elon University’s Student Government Association passed a resolution calling for the Chick-fil-A restaurant to move off campus.
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy said earlier this year that he “supports Biblical families”.
Policy
The resolution, passed in a 35-11 vote, was brought forward by “queer-straight alliance” Spectrum. The group argued that permitting Chick-fil-A to remain on campus would constitute a violation of the university's non-discrimination policy.
The final decision on the restaurant’s future at Elon will be made by the university’s senior administrators and executive president Darien Flowers, who could either veto the ban or uphold it.
Backlash
Mr Cathy told the Baptist Journal in July that his company, which has 1,615 stores in 39 states, was: “Very much supportive of the family – the Biblical family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family led-business and we are still married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that”.
His comments have since led to a significant backlash against the company, with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stating earlier this year that they wanted to prevent Chick-fil-A stores from opening in their cities.
Mr Menino wrote a letter to the Chick-fil-A President, stating that there is no place for the store in the city. He claimed that permitting the branch to open across from City Hall would be an “insult” due its stance on marriage.
Sources
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