The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of free speech. The law is clear that government at any level may not act to limit or punish free speech at any time. It is in this context that one needs to look at the recent actions in Boston and Chicago against Chick-fil-A. The Chairman of Chick-fil-A was quoted in an interview as saying that he believes that marriage is between one man and one woman and that the definition was set in the Bible by God. Since then, the mayor of Boston told Chick-fil-A to stay out of that city, and the mayor of Chicago and some aldermen there have threatened to block permits needed for the chicken restaurant to open new locations in the Windy City. In other words, two municipal governments have tried to punish Chick-fil-A for what its chairman had to say.
It is important to note that there are no claims that the restaurant refused to serve gays or discriminated in any way against gay customers. The only "wrongdoing" for which the two city governments are punishing the restaurant chain is the statement by its chairman. This is a pure attempt by government to squash the statement of speech that it dislikes. As such, it is totally illegal.
Does anyone want to guess whether or not the Justice Department will step in to protect Chick-a-Fil? Will president Obama speak out against this unconstitutional attack by Rahm Emmanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff? Don't hold your breath waiting for some federal action. The Constitution can get trampled, but Obama will focus on his re-election only.
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