Protesters Spoil Chick-fil-A Opening

Meanwhile Chicago franchise owner urges Rahm to eat there
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 26, 2012 4:53 PM CDT
Protesters Spoil Chick-Fil-A Opening
This Thursday, July 19, 2012 photo shows a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant in Atlanta.   (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Fast food lovers had camped out all night for the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A in Laguna Hills, California, but their plans were foiled this morning as gay rights protesters descended on the restaurant, and company management made everyone disperse, NBC San Diego reports. The chicken chain has suddenly become America's most controversial eatery after its president declared its opposition to same-sex marriage.

In related news nuggets:

  • The owner of Chicago's lone Chick-fil-A franchise is on a mission to meet with Rahm Emanuel and change his mind about the chain. Lauren Silich says she's not interested in politics. "I sell chicken," she tells 89 WLS. "There's nothing discriminatory in anything that we do."
  • Emanuel had supported an effort to block a new Chick-fil-A location. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had likewise declared the chain unwelcome in Boston. But legal experts—including one ACLU lawyer—tell Fox News that banning the chain would be an "open and shut" case of discrimination.
  • Indeed, Menino has admitted that he was only expressing an "opinion" and wouldn't actually try to block Chick-fil-A. "I make mistakes all the time," he tells the Boston Herald. "That's a Menino-ism."
(More Chick-fil-A stories.)

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