Christine Quinn Starts Petition To Ban Chick-fil-A and Remove from NYU Dining Hall
New York Council Speaker Christine Quinn is out on a mission to ban Chick-fil-A in NYC.
On July 28, the politician started an online petition declaring that Chick-fil-A is unwanted in the city as long as the fast-food chain's president, Dan Cathy, continues to advocate his anti-gay marriage views, according to Metro New York.
The newspaper reported on July 30 that only one day after the petition was posted online, it already gathered 392 signatures. The petition also demanded that Quinn apologize for his anti-gay remarks, according to amNew York. The restaurant chain has donated $2 million to anti-same-sex initiatives, according to Quinn's office.
These efforts by Council Speaker Quinn are in response to Cathy's statement in a radio interview where he said, "I think we are inviting G-d's judgment when we shake our fist at him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage."
Quinn is openly gay and in the running to be NYC's next mayor.
"We do not believe in denigrating others. We revel in the differences of our people and their families," Quinn wrote in the petition.
In New York's five boroughs, the chain's only location currently resides in New York University's Weinstein Ding Hall - which Quinn is also advocating to be removed.
He sent a letter to NYU President John Sexton trying to convince him to remove Chick-fil-A from NYU, stating, "I do not want establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views."
Reported on July 27 by Enstarz, celebrities have come out backlashing Cathy's remarks, including Roseanne Barr who not only attacked the fast-food president in a tweet, but also their food, calling it a "s%#@ fil-A sandwich."
The first Chick-fil-A Restaurant opened in 1967 and the company is still privately held and family owned, with 2011 reported annual sales of over $4.1 billion, according to their official site.
