Joshua Gill on March 22, 2019
The San Antonio City Council banned Chick-fil-A from San Antonio International Airport over “anti-LGBTQ behavior” as part of a new concessions plan for the airport.
District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño motioned to approve the Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement with Paradies Lagardère for the airport Thursday on condition Chick-fil-A be excluded from the agreement. Treviño asserted Chick-fil-A has a “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior” and that such a business had no place in the city’s airport.
“With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion. 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,” Treviño said according to ABC.
“Everyone has a place here, and everyone should feel welcome when they walk through our airport. I look forward to the announcement of a suitable replacement by Paradies,” he added.
Treviño’s motion came after a Wednesday ThinkProgress report that asserted Chick-fil-A donated $1.8 million in 2017 to the Salvation Army, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Paul Anderson Youth Home — charitable Christian ministries that ThinkProgress defined as discriminatory against LGBTQ individuals. Chick-fil-A cut ties with the Paul Anderson Youth Home as of June 2017.
Chick-fil-A said the city council made no mention of its concerns before the motion and that the restaurant would have liked to have had a dialogue with it prior to the decision.
“This is the first we’ve heard of this. It’s disappointing. 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,” the company said in a statement.
