SF Mayor Tells Chick-fil-A They're Not Welcome

Add San Francisco's Edwin Lee to the list of American mayors who don't want Chick-Fil-A coming anywhere near them with their delicious anti-gay chickens. Mayor Lee tweeted last night: "Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer."

But just because, as Lee wrote in another tweet, "#ChickFilA doesn't share San Francisco's values & strong commitment to equality for everyone," doesn't actually mean cities can legally keep the fast food chains out, mainly because of that whole First Amendment thing on which is built the very foundation of American public life wherein people are free to believe pretty much whatever they want without fear of government censorship.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg understands: he said on his radio show this morning that it's "just not government's job" to "have a test" for business owners' political beliefs. And even though it's "strongly" in support of gay marriage, the ACLU agrees with Bloomberg. "We don't think the government should exclude Chick-fil-A because of the anti-LGBT message," an Illinois ACLU attorney tells Fox News. Turns out, government officials can't just ban a business because they disagree with what the owners think. USA! USA! USA!

· Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away ... [@MayorEdLee]
· Legal eagles cry fowl over politicians' plans to block Chick-fil-A [Fox News]
· San Francisco is the third city to tell Chick-fil-A: Keep out [LA Times]
· All Chick-Fil-A Coverage on Eater [-E-]

[Photo: Steve Webel/Flickr]