Nothing makes Democrats more angry than the popularity of Chick-fil-A
Madeline Fry Schultz
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There is nothing more endlessly frustrating to Democratic lawmakers and activists than the startling popularity of Chick-fil-A. A leader in customer satisfaction and a favorite among Generation Z, the Atlanta-based chicken sandwich peddler can’t stop winning in the eyes of the public.
Despite complaints against the company’s religious values and supposed “anti-LGBT” affiliations, consumers have shown that there’s no interest in a significant boycott. That’s why lawmakers in New York want the state itself to crack down on the fast food chain.
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Legislators want New York road trippers to have boundless opportunity when it comes to picking a place to eat lunch at a rest stop — unless that place is Chick-fil-A. Under the guise of “consumer protection,” state Rep. Tony Simone has introduced a bill specifying that if a food service company wants to contract with the state to serve customers at a rest stop on the New York State Thruway system, it has to be open seven days a week.
Famously closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A was even named in the bill’s justification. Two years ago, the New York State Thruway Authority hired convenience store chain Applegreen to handle leases of all service areas. One of the restaurant chains in Applegreen’s portfolio is the dreaded chicken sandwich chain.
Chick-fil-A “has already opened at seven service areas,” the text complains. “While there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant.”
Simone went on CNN to defend his bill, arguing that this is about supporting New York drivers and not about targeting a popular fast food chain for its founder’s Christian values.
“Look, this has nothing to do with religion,” Simone said. “Chick-fil-A is welcome to close on Sunday at all their other restaurants in the state. This is about making sure the throughways have rest stops that support and have our travelers be able to be serviced.”
The textual justification for the bill has already given the game away. Now, when pressed on it, Simone wants us to think he cares most about protecting consumers — one of the most popular excuses for all manner of encroachments into individual rights. But Simone is just carrying on the battle that his fellow Democratic lawmakers started.
This summer, three left-wing lawmakers wrote a letter to the New York State Thruway Authority urging it to “reexamine” Chick-fil-A’s inclusion in Applegreen’s portfolio of restaurants due to its “long and controversial history of opposing the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and families.” Apparently, the letter didn’t have the results its authors intended.
Enter Simone’s bill, which prompted such national outrage that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) responded to the news by posting, “This is war.” If passed, the legislation is likely to face legal challenges on the basis of religious freedom.
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Even beyond the constitutionality of the bill, its logic is not so airtight. If a rest stop Chick-fil-A being closed on Sunday is a great annoyance for customers, they will refuse to eat there on Saturday, too, and the location will lose money and close. But Chick-fil-A’s popularity has proven enduring despite its day of rest, and markets reveal the preferences of the masses, not of Democratic activists.
In this case, as in most others, “consumer protection” becomes just another phrase for “forcing the market to do what I want.”