Politicians Should Back Off on Chick-fil-A

When Chick-fil-A's president expressed his support for traditional marriage, a number of city officials responded by declaring an intention to ban the fast-food chain from their cities. As a gay man, Steve Salbu disagrees with Dan Cathy's views on gay marriage—but he also firmly disagrees with those city officials. "If our elected officials run Chick-fil-A out of town, they are effectively voting for all of us, regardless of our respective beliefs, and eliminating our individual freedoms," Salbu writes in the New York Times. "And freedom, after all, is at the heart of the controversy over same-sex marriage."

If we really believe in individual freedom, then we must allow Cathy to have his views. Sure, we can individually boycott Chick-fil-A if we disagree with those views—but that's where we have to draw the line. Unless Chick-fil-A breaks the law, city officials cannot take a stand without trampling on that same freedom. Let's have faith that individual consumers will make a statement. Gay people "are the ones with the highest personal stakes in sticking out the battle in the long run," Salbu writes. "And we will vote with our feet." Click for Salbu's full column. (More Dan Cathy stories.)