Chicken <i>a la</i> Emanuel

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The question we find ourselves ruminating on this morning is whether an Orthodox Jewish restaurant would be permitted to open in Chicago. The question is spurred by the headline on the Drudge Report “Rahm Rejects CHICK-FIL-A: ‘Not Chicago Values . . .’” It links to a dispatch in the Sun-Times saying that Mayor Emanuel and a local alderman are “determined to block Chick-fil-A from expanding in Chicago” because of the religious views of its owners, who are Christians who oppose same-sex marriage.

This erupted after Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, which built a restaurant empire based on the quality of its service and the deliciousness of its chicken sandwiches, gave an interview to a newspaper called the Biblical Recorder, which has been issued by the North Carolina Baptists since 1833. The Recorder asked him about opposition to his company’s support of what the Recorder called “the traditional family.” Mr. Cathy replied “Guilty as charged.”

Mr. Cathy didn’t stop there. Quoth he: “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.” He added, “We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families — some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.”

It is not our purpose here to treat Mr. Cathy’s views. Nor is it not our purpose here to remark on same sex marriage, one way or the other. It is our purpose to remark that it’s hard to think of a difference between the views expressed in the quotations above by Mr. Cathy and those one might hear from the Council of Torah Sages or the Archdiocese of Chicago. Or every president of America who has spoken on the subject until President Obama changed his position and declared himself, personally if not officially, for same sex marriage.

Yet here comes the mayor of Chicago declaring, according to the Sun Times, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.” The Sun Times quoted him as adding that what the chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A “has said as it relates to gay marriage and gay couples is not what I believe, but more importantly, it’s not what the people of Chicago believe.”

Well, we’ll see. It’s not that the city of Chicago has been so all-fired tolerant itself. And never mind the carnage of violence and murder on its streets. The mayor is quoted by the Sun Times as noting that the city “just passed legislation as it relates to civil union” and that “my goal and my hope … is that we now move on recognizing gay marriage.” In other words, those of us who are not from Chicago can deduce, the Windy City hasn’t yet enacted gay marriage any more than has, say, Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters of Chick-fil-A.

It happens that we wouldn’t object to Mayor Emanuel expressing his differences with the Council of Torah Sages or the Archdiocese of Chicago or any other religious or secular institution that holds views identical, or similar, to those of the proprietor of Chick-fil-A. We have no objection to Mayor Emanuel trying to lead in the formation of a public opinion that he sees as more tolerant of same sex couples. But somewhere the liberal camp has veered far beyond liberality in respect of this issue — from protecting victims of bullying to becoming the bullies themselves.

* * *

Mayor Emanuel is not alone in using his bully pulpit in a bullying way. Mayor Menino of Boston is also trying to block Chick-fil-A from opening a store in Beantown. Presumably other cities will pile on in the weeks ahead. All the more reason to mark the moment. What Their Honors are talking about is imposing on ordinary citizens a religious test in order to open a business in their cities. It is a bizarre development in a country in which mayors, and all other officials in America, are themselves protected from such tests by a constitution that declares that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifiction to any office of public trust. What an irony that today the question has become whether religious tests of the kind that may never be required of public officials will be imposed by public officials on private persons and their businesses.


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