Politics

Chip Roy Writes An Open Letter To San Antonio City Council After Chick-Fil-A Ban

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Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy wrote an open letter to the San Antonio city council on Wednesday after it banned Chick-fil-A from the San Antonio International Airport over “anti-LGBTQ behavior.”

“According to these news accounts, members of the council suggested that Chick-fil-A has a history of ‘anti-LGBTQ behavior,’ and that banning them from doing business at a terminal in the airport is making the city a ‘champion of equality and inclusion,'” wrote Roy, who represents the portion of San Antonio where the airport is located.

Today, I sent a letter to the San Antonio City Council requesting clarification on reports that the council is prohibiting @ChickfilA from operating a store in the San Antonio International Airport.

You can find the text of the letter included in this tweet. pic.twitter.com/yg0AVK9ZLI

— Rep. Chip Roy (@RepChipRoy) March 27, 2019

The prohibition came after a report noted that in 2017, Chick-fil-A donated nearly $2 million to the Salvation Army, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Paul Anderson Youth Home. The report asserted that the three charities were discriminatory against LGBTQ individuals.

Roy defended the charitable Christian ministries, stating that Christianity and the belief in traditional marriage does not equate to anti-LGBTQ. Rather, the fast food chain treats all customers as equally welcome.

To be clear:

– Operating a company according to Christian values is not bigoted, nor is it discriminatory;
– Donating to charities that support Christian athletes is not bigoted, nor is it discriminatory;
– Supporting the Salvation Army and other charitable groups that adhere to Christian values is not bigoted, nor is it discriminatory;
– Having views of marriage that are based in biblical doctrine while promising to make every customer feel “welcome” who walks in the door is not bigoted, nor is it discriminatory.

The Texas congressman also fired back at city councilman Roberto Treviño who made the motion against Chick-fil-A and further claimed that the ban reaffirmed that San Antonio is a champion of equality and inclusion.

“Targeting individuals, organizations, or corporations for carrying out their deeply-held religious beliefs in accord with our laws and consistent with many Americans’ similarly held religious beliefs is hardly making San Antonio a ‘champion of equality and inclusion,'” Roy said. “I hope this matter can be resolved, as it would be unfortunate if the council’s decision negatively impacted our ability to effectively advocate for San Antonio in Congress due to such rampant discriminatory action against a well-regarded business with such a significant presence in our communities in central Texas and across the nation.”

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