City Council Members Stall Chick-fil-A At Denver Airport Over Anti-Gay Views

Gay rights groups and others protest and hold a "kiss-in" outside the Decatur, Ga., Chick-fil-A restaurant Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 as a public response to a company official who was quoted as supporting the traditional ... Gay rights groups and others protest and hold a "kiss-in" outside the Decatur, Ga., Chick-fil-A restaurant Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 as a public response to a company official who was quoted as supporting the traditional family unit. About two dozen protesters gathered on the busy corner to voice their views. (AP Photo/David Tulis) MORE LESS
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Plans for a Chick-fil-A location at the Denver International Airport have been placed on hold after members of the city council last week objected to anti-gay views of the chain’s owner.

Robin Kniech, the first openly gay member on the Denver City Council, was the first to protest a Chick-fil-A location at the airport during the council’s Business Development Committee meeting on Tuesday, the Denver Post reported. She said she was concerned that the airport location would add to “corporate profits used to fund and fuel discrimination.”

Councilman Paul Lopez also opposed opening a franchise of the chain, calling it a “really, truly a moral issue on the city,” according to the Denver Post. Ten of the 13 committee members attended the meeting on Tuesday, and none of them spoke to defend Chick-fil-A, according to the Post.

The fried chicken chain previously occupied a concession in the Denver airport about 10 years ago. Mike De La Rosa, the president of Delarosa, one of the companies in charge of the concession location at the airport, said that Delarosa, along with another company, was in charge of hiring for the concession and that Chick-fil-A would get seven percent of royalties from the location.

“We have a long history of diversity, all those kind of things, between both companies. These would not be issues,” De La Rosa said, according to the Denver Post.

Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A is known for his opposition to same-sex marriage. He published a tweet in 2013 scolding the Supreme Court for expanding federal recognition of gay marriage, calling it a “sad day for our nation.” Foundations associated with the company have also made donations to anti-gay groups.

Cathy in 2014 said that while he still opposes gay marriage, he planned to no longer discuss politics. The foundations linked to Chick-fil-A also reduced their donations to groups opposed to LGBT rights in 2012, according to a 2014 ThinkProgress report.

In a statement to The Denver Channel, Chick-fil-A said the company is “focused on serving great food and providing remarkable service to every single customer.”

The Denver City Council’s Business Development Committee will discuss the contract for the airport concession and Chick-fil-A again on Sept. 1, where the city’s attorneys may speak to the members about the legal issues surrounding the contract, according to The Denver Post.

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