Chick-fil-A Barred From Second Airport In Less Than 2 Weeks

Chick-fil-A has been blocked again from setting up shop in an airport, this time in Buffalo, New York, the second city to retaliate against the fast-food chain’s anti-LGBTQ stance in just over a week.

State Assemblyman Sean Ryan, a Democrat, announced Friday that plans to include the eatery at Buffalo Niagara International Airport were scrapped. In a statement, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said it would contact the lawmaker to “discuss his concerns.” However, Ryan dismissed the offer on Twitter, claiming he had nothing to discuss with the organization.

“We can’t allow companies who support anti-LGBTQ groups to do business at state owned facilities,” he wrote.

Two hours later, Ryan released an update, praising the final decision to keep Chick-fil-A out of the airport’s food court, adding that he’s “confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace” it.

Last month, the San Antonio city council voted to block the restaurant from its airport, calling out its “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”

Just before the business was barred, tax filings obtained by ThinkProgress revealed that the company had donated $1.8 million to anti-LGBTQ groups in 2017.

However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the controversy over Chick-fil-A, which has become a sort of political lightning rod ever since CEO Dan Cathy said in a 2012 Baptist Press interview that he and his franchise support “the biblical definition of the family unit.”

Boycotts and protests then broke out as the chain attempted to do damage control, trying to fix its intolerant image.

While the action in Buffalo against the company appears to not yet face a legal challenge, in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has launched an investigation into what he feels is “potential discrimination” and a possible case for First Amendment violations in San Antonio.