Friday night, across the country (sort of), gay marriage activists turned out in less than impressive numbers to stage a “kiss-in” protest against the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A.
The controversy–out of Chicago, of course–was sparked after Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno declared in a Chicago Tribune editorial that he would assert his “aldermanic privilege” to block a Chick-fil-A franchise from opening in his ward solely based on the president of Chick-fil-A’s personal Christian beliefs. Mayor Rahm Emanuel backed up Moreno with the astounding comment: “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values.”
At 7pm Friday in downtown Chicago, about 20 to 30 “kiss-in” protesters gathered outside of Chick-fil-A to voice their opinions. Many protesters wrapped their legs around each other and kissed in front of the cameras. However, not all were not supporters of Alderman Moreno’s position.
Despite many protesters’ support for same-sex marriage, quite a few said they opposed the alderman’s position. As one gay protester explained to Breitbart News, “I struggle with the idea of blocking someone from opening up a company solely based on his personal beliefs, I feel like, what if they stop opening gay companies from opening up? It just starts a really bad precedent and slippery slope that I don’t want to walk down…”
Another man unashamedly showed me a Chick-fil-A drink he purchased inside, saying that while he was there in solidarity with gay rights, he was “not necessarily protesting.” He told me, “we can choose to eat here or not to.” Further, when I asked whether Alderman Moreno had a right to stop the business from opening based on the president of that company’s personal religious values, he and another fellow gay attendee answered with a flat-out “No.”
Chick-fil-A has reported record sales numbers after hundreds of thousands of supporters of religious liberty across the country turned out on Wednesday to support the chain. Despite this, Moreno wildly doubled down on his radical position in a slew of media appearances ,and even claimed that Chicago’s Cardinal George was “un-Christian,” after the Cardinal penned a blog post detailing his disagreement with Moreno and Rahm’s actions.
In Chicago, given the comparatively small turn out of “kiss-in” protesters, many of whom expressed disagreement with Alderman Moreno, it is clearer than ever who it is that has a warped sense of “values.”
It is time for Moreno to call it quits on his dance in the national spotlight, tippy-toe back to his office in the 1st Ward and accept that his personal Chicago values are neither those of the community he claims to speak for, the rest of the city, or the vast majority of America.
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