Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to block Chick-fil-A from building in Chicago after gay marriage scandal

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 21:11 EDT, 26 July 2012 | Updated: 03:50 EDT, 27 July 2012

Against: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Chick-fil-A doesn't belong in Chicago because of its stance on gay marriage

Chick-fil-A isn't welcome in Chicago after the company's CEO couple out against gay marriage -- at least as far as Mayor Rahm Emanuel is concerned.

The head of the nation's third-largest city hopes to hit the fast food chain where it hurts most -- its pocketbook -- by vowing to block its plans to build a new restaurant in his hometown.

Emanuel is the second mayor of a major city to oppose Chick-fil-A over its gay marriage stance. Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, sent a letter informing Chick-fil-A executives last week that their plans to open a restaurant there are not welcome, either.

San Francisco Mayor Ewdin Lee also joined the chorus opposing Chick-fil-A with a tweet saying: 'Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer.'

'Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values,' Emanuel told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday.

The Democrat mayor, who was previously President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, said the comments by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy run against the grain of the city, which allows civil partnerships for gay couples and is working to recognize gay marriage.

Gay marriage, however, is not legal in Illinois.

Chick-fil-A has filed permits to open its first stand-alone restaurant in Chicago. The chain already has a store near Loyola University's campus downtown.

At least one city legislator agrees with the mayor. Alderman Joe Moreno says he will do everything he can to hold up, delay and otherwise block the company from opening a new store.

Chick-fil-A also won a detractor in Mayor Menino, the longtime Democratic leader of Boston. In a letter to the company's president Dan Cathy, Mayor Menino pointed out that Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

'There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and there is no place for your company alongside it,' he wrote of Chick-fil-A's plans to open a restaurant in the city.

The company made enemies of Emanuel and Menino, but it found a friend in former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

Standing up: Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, caused an uproar when he said he and the company opposed gay marriage

'With two of my boys, Enjoying chick-in-strips and an awesome peach shake at Chick-fil-A. See you here next Wednesday! ' he tweeted, referencing a proposed rally for the company on August 1.

Cathy, who is the company's chief operating officer and president, said in interviews that he supports only 'traditional marriage.'

'I think we’re inviting God’s judgment when we shake our fist at him, you know, "We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage." And I pray on God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try and redefine what marriage is all about,' he said.

On Wednesday, Chick-fil-A was forced to deny using fake Facebook profiles to defend itself against angry posters.

Enemy: Boston Mayor Tom Menino wrote a letter to Chick-fil-A last week saying he hoped to bar the chain from his city, as well

In a Facebook exchange circulated by several websites, a user named 'Abby Farle' stands up for Chick-fil-A until it is revealed that her account was created eight hours prior and her profile picture used a stock image of a generic teenage girl.

As the accusations about fake Facebook accounts run by the Chick-fil-A public relations team began to circulate on Wednesday, the company was forced to post a denial on its official Facebook account.

'Hey Fans, thanks for being supportive. There is a lot of misinformation out there. The latest is we have been accused of impersonating a teenager with a fake Facebook profile. We want you to know we would never do anything like that and this claim is 100% false. Please share with this with your friends,' the Atlanta, Georgia-based company wrote.

Within two hours, the post had been 'liked' by nearly 30,000 Facebook users and shared by more than 4,000.

The row was over a Facebook post condemning Chick-fil-A for claiming it had recalled kids' meal toys made by the Jim Henson Company because children had gotten their fingers stuck inside them.

The Jim Henson Company, creator of Sesame Street and the Muppets, had previously announced that it was canceling its partnership with Chick-fil-A over the gay marriage stance and pulling its toys from the chain's restaurants.

When a Facebook user posted on Chick-fil-A's page and criticized the company for 'lying' about the recall, Facebook user Abby Fale rose to the company's defense.

Denial: Chick-fil-A says claims that it has used fake Facebook profiles are '100 percent false.'

'it was taken back weeks before any of this... check your info,' she writes.

Later she says, 'my friend went to chickfila 3 weeks ago and there was no toys. derr.'

Another user chimes in: 'Abby joined Facebook 8 hours ago. Nice try Chick-fil-a PR guy.'

Then, he posts the stock image, taken by a professional photographer, that was used for Abby Farle's profile picture.

BuzzFeed claims it found a second profile, Cordell Bunton, that could be a fake, as well. Mr Bunton's only post was on Chick-fil-A's wall. It that reads: 'STAND YOUR GROUND ON THIS DECISION I STAND BESIDE YOU ALL THE WAY, CONTINUE GOD'S WORK.'