Texas airport bans Chick-fil-A because of anti-LGBTQ+ donations

A San Antonio airport is banning Chick-fil-A because of the company’s continued support for anti-LGBTQ+ groups.

The San Antonio city council has voted against allowing Chick-fil-A to open a franchise in the local airport after it was revealed the company is putting millions of dollars towards anti-LGBTQ+ groups.

“With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion,” District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño said after the vote, according to LGBTQ Nation. “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”

A company that operates restaurants and shops in airports applied to open several concessions in the airport terminals, and the application was approved with the stipulation that Chick-fil-A is not included.

“This is the first we’ve heard of this. It’s disappointing,” Chick-Fil-A said in a statement. “We would have liked to have had a dialogue with the city council before this decision was made. We agree with Councilmember Treviño that everyone is and should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A. We plan to reach out to the city council to gain a better understanding of this decision."

Chick-fil-A has recently been found to give money to organizations such as the Paul Anderson Youth Home, the Salvation Army, the SPLC-designated hate group Family Research Council, the conversion therapy group Exodus International, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which each have been known to spread anti-LGBTQ+ messages.

An official FCA statement reads, “We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.”

The council vote was 6-4 in the decision to ban Chick-fil-A from the San Antonio airport. The four votes against the measure were spurred by councilors who wanted more time to examine the contract.