Activist Groups Want Chick-fil-A Thrown Off College Campuses

Just because the dust has settled on Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day doesn’t mean the culture war is over. Indeed, it may be just beginning.

Activist groups are now fighting to get Chick-fil-A restaurants thrown off college campuses in light of chief operating officer and President Dan Cathy’s support of traditional marriage.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sent letters Friday to five universities encouraging them to reject the demands of activist groups. The letters explain that retaliation against Chick-fil-A for its president’s constitutionally protected beliefs would violate federal law.

“Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” says ADF litigation counsel Matt Sharp. “The First Amendment protects Chick-fil-A’s right and its president’s right to express their opinions on marriage and other political and social issues. Any retaliation against Chick-fil-A or its president based on their speech is a violation of federal law.”

The letters went to five universities which activist groups are pressuring to evict Chick-fil-A: West Virginia University, New York University, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Kansas and University of Louisville.

“The vitriol directed against Chick-fil-A is based solely upon the recent statements by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy that ‘We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit.’ But Mr. Cathy’s statement, which is an opinion shared by the majority of Americans, is no less protected than those made by business leaders from other companies who have expressed a different opinion upon the issue of same-sex ‘marriage,’” the letters state.

The letters go on to explain that “no matter whether Chick-fil-A has a permit to operate a restaurant on your university’s campus, is leasing space in the food court, or is considered an independent contractor providing food service on behalf of the university, the First Amendment protects the company from retaliation based on its protected speech. … Not only would discriminating against Chick-fil-A be a clear violation of the First Amendment and expose the University to legal liability, but it would undermine the very lessons of free speech and tolerance that the University seeks to teach to its student body.”