Chick-fil-A barred from second airport after anti-LGBTQ donations
- Chick-fil-A has been barred from opening a restaurant in Buffalo Niagara International Airport over concerns about the chain's stance on LGBTQ issues.
- In March, Texas officials reversed plans to let Chick-fil-A open a location in San Antonio International Airport.
- A recent report said Chick-fil-A in 2017 gave $1.8 million to three Christian groups with a history of anti-LGBTQ rights discrimination.
A second U.S. airport is barring Chick-fil-A amid renewed focus on the the fast-food chain's stance on LGBTQ issues. Delaware North, a private hospitality company hired by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority in New York, reversed plans last week to open a restaurant in Buffalo Niagara International Airport after the NFTA faced criticism from state legislators.
"As a state entity, the NFTA has a responsibility to avoid doing business with corporations who fund hateful and divisive groups," said Sean Ryan, state assemblyman for Buffalo, New York, in a statement criticizing the transportation agency.
The decision follows a March report by ThinkProgress, a left-leaning news site, that Chick-fil-A in 2017 gave $1.8 million to three Christian groups with a history of anti-LGBTQ rights discrimination. Chick-fil-A donated over $1.6 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, according to its tax filings. It donated $150,000 to the Salvation Army and $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a residential home for troubled youth.
The company, which lists the donations on its website, noted it cut funding for the Paul Anderson Youth Home as of June 2017.
Following the ThinkProgress report, city council members in Texas last month reversed plans to let Chick-fil-A open a location in San Antonio International Airport. "We don't have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior," councilman Roberto Treviño said in a statement at the time.
Chick-fil-A denies that it discriminates against the LGBTQ community. "Recent coverage about Chick-fil-A continues to drive an inaccurate narrative about our brand. We want to make it clear that our sole focus is on providing delicious food and welcoming everyone — not being a part of a national political conversation," the company said in a statement.
"We do not have a political or social agenda," the statement continued.
Chick-fil-A has drawn attention for its position on same-sex issues since 2012, when chairman Dan Cathy said he supports "the biblical definition of the family unit."