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Chicago Alderman caves, will not block Chick-fil-A

Chicago Alderman caves, will not block Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A opponents declare, um, victory?

Alderman Joe Moreno has relented and said he now will allow Chick-fil-A to open in his Chicago ward. Earlier this summer, Moreno had attempted to block the company after decrying president Dan Cathy’s comments in support of traditional marriage.

According to Moreno, he’s giving in because Chick-fil-A has now released a memo entitled “Chick-fil-A: Who We Are,” which reaffirms that they “will treat every person with honor, dignity, and respect–regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation and gender.” The language in this document almost exactly mirrors a statement Chick-fil-A had placed on its facebook page on July 19, prior to any of Moreno’s actions.

In addition, the WinShape Foundation, a charity funded by Chick-fil-A and the Cathy family, released a statement saying that it will refrain from donating to “groups with political agendas.” In a letter to Alderman Moreno, the foundation wrote:

The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas.

Moreno would like this turn of events to be recorded as a “big win,” and he certainly needs some semblance of good publicity. After coming under fire from First-Amendment advocates for his (illegal?) attack on free speech, the Alderman has recently been skewered by the far-left for supporting Rahm Emanuel during the recent teacher strike.

And Moreno has more than enough help in spinning the statement into a sort of watershed victory for activist LGBT groups. A press release sent out by the Civil Right Agenda, an Illinois-based LGBT advocacy group, proclaimed “Chick-fil-A ceases anti-Gay donations,” while Chicagoist, a leftwing blog, ran the headline “Chick-Fil-A Promises Chicago Alderman: No More Anti-Gay Donations.” Even the Los Angeles Times‘s headline read: “Chick-fil-A promises to stop giving money to anti-gay groups.”

Quite a leap to “no more anti-gay donations” from the facts: a company re-releasing language affirming that it treats all its customers with dignity and respect, along with its foundation resolving to refrain from donating to political groups. The Chicago Tribune reports:

Meanwhile, Illinois Family Institute Executive Director David Smith said the pledge to respect all people was simply in keeping with the Cathy family’s values. “That’s just consistent with their Christian beliefs — that’s consistent with orthodox Christian values,” Smith said. But Smith took issue with limiting how the company or foundation spent its money. “It seems as though Moreno is asking them to handcuff themselves and to limit their speech,” he said. “Why couldn’t they fund whatever organization they want?”

Some might say treating every person with honor, dignity, and respect is exactly what Chick-fil-A employees had already been doing, as exemplified by the drive-through window employee’s polite response to Vante CEO Adam Smith’s verbal, recorded, tirade against her. We all know about the infamous LGBT protest wherein an Occupy activist verbally abused a homeless man outside the restaurant.

At least Alderman Moreno got a good lesson on the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Let’s hope he continues on to read the rest of them.

ADDED INFORMATION: While many news outlets are running headlines saying that Chick-fil-A will no longer donate to anti-gay groups, this information appears to stem from one press release put out on “The Civil Rights Agenda” website and Alderman Moreno’s comments to the Chicago Tribune, rather than primary sources. Chick-fil-A has not responded to repeated requests from the Tribune for confirmation. The actual sources currently made available are: the “Chick-fil-A: Who We Are” memo and the statement from the WinShape Foundation. Neither of these makes any mention of donations to anti-gay groups; rather, the language states they are “not supporting organizations with political agendas.” Until more information is released, it appears premature, at best, to say that this means “no more anti-gay donations.”

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Comments

Maybe LI can celebrate by bringing that homeless preacher to the new Chick-fil-A and scoring him another dinner.

So that alderman folded like the unions did?

Bets that Alderman Joe Moreno will ever attempt to enforce what he calls a “pledge”…???

I want a piece of that lawsuit.

So the Company isn’t donating money to groups it never donated to? I thought the donations and comments that offended them were made by the guy who started the company, not the company itself. And the Left celebrates that as a ‘win’ they can claim they made happen. Huh.

In other news:

“Nancy Pelosi is No Longer Raising Bunnies Used in Glenn Reynolds’ Smoothies”

The Republican Party wins another one!

theduchessofkitty | September 19, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Spin until they lose all balance and fall on the floor…

Still: I smell “bribery” here…

FUNNY…The Yahoo News thing on my e-mail site resoundingly declares that Chick-fil-A lost and declared gay marriage okie-doakie…! LOVE our MSM-Useless Lapdawgs.

No, Chick-Fil-A caved:
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/19/13964297-chick-fil-a-says-it-will-stop-funding-anti-gay-groups

Let’s not be doofuses here. This is what bending over looks like, folks. Straight up.

EBL, if you think the Unions folded take another look at the agreement and what the teachers got.

The Unions won in Chicago.

So – you can have a business. Just as long as you give up your first-amendment rights. That’s not bribery, that’s extortion.

    Uncle Samuel in reply to radiofreeca. | September 19, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    Extortion and Intimidation – the Agenda is playing the old Mafia Protection Game.

    Works every time – UNTIL – the public gets sick of being Intimidated and stands together and faces and beats the bullies together.

    We must speak up, stand up, stand firm and stand together.

    Defend Chick-Fil-A and every other group or person these creeps attack.

    Give them the Breitbart treatment.

[…] think they said what he thinks they said. Posted on September 19, 2012 3:41 pm by genes Chicago Alderman caves, will not block Chick-fil-A According to Moreno, he’s giving in because Chick-fil-A has now released a memo entitled […]

BannedbytheGuardian | September 19, 2012 at 7:02 pm

Chikkins are still victims!

[…] …and lets him retreat gracefully, while saving face: Alderman Joe Moreno has relented and said he now will allow Chick-fil-A to open in his Chicago ward. Earlier this summer, Moreno had attempted to block the company after decrying president Dan Cathy’s comments in support of traditional marriage. […]

I don’t understand, CFA just restated that they won’t contribute to groups with political agendas, they never donated to those groups in the first place, so how is not donating to groups you never donated to in the first place “caving”?

It tastes just like….chicken!!

Headline: Chick-fil-A’s big switch on gay marriage

The embattled fast-food chain ends its financial support of antigay organizations.

-Yahoo!

Hardly anyone is actually reading the article–just the bogus headline, and calling them sellouts.

Did Chik-Fil-A actually think they could win this one? How clueless do you have to be to realize that once they agreed to anything the democrats put up, they lost? It doesn’t matter if anything actually changes, either. We know the media well enough to know this will be spun to the detriment of Chik-fil-a.

[…] Jacobson says that information from Chick-fil-A is scarce: they aren’t responding to questions: While many news outlets are running headlines saying that Chick-fil-A will no longer donate to […]

[…] Jacobson says that information from Chick-fil-A is scarce: they aren’t responding to questions: While many news outlets are running headlines saying that Chick-fil-A will no longer donate to […]

[…] up her initial report about some sloppy MSM reporting that suggested Chic-fil-A “had decided to cease donations to […]

[…] up her initial report about some sloppy MSM reporting that suggested Chic-fil-A “had decided to cease donations to […]

[…] Wednesday, I reported that the media were falsely reporting that Chick-fil-A had decided to cease donations to “anti-gay” groups. Scores of so-called […]