Thanks for stance on Chick-fil-A

Thanks for stance on Chick-fil-A

I wish to express appreciation for Lombard Trustee Peter Breen’s support of Chick-fil-A as reported in the Daily Herald on July 27. Ever since President Dan Cathy publicly declared his view that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, some public figures have rushed to judge Chick-fil-A as a bigoted, discriminatory company which has no place in cities like Boston and Chicago.

All of this without a shred of evidence that Chick-fil-A has ever exercised discriminatory practices against employees or customers. Mr. Cathy was expressing his personal view. Yet, immediately, political figures such as the mayor of Boston, the mayor of Chicago and a prominent Chicago alderman have taken Chick-fil-A as an organization to task and say there is no place for such a company in their communities.

I have heard individuals who are against gay marriage encourage customers to not shop or do business with organizations which support gay marriage. However, I have never heard of a call to not allow those organizations to actually conduct business in a community. Mr. Breen is right to declare that the response to Mr. Cathy has been “bigotry, pure and simple” and to state that his “role as a trustee is to support free exercise of religion and freedom of speech, as well as business development and job growth.”

Thank you, Mr. Breen, for not only expressing your own view of what marriage should be as rooted in the historical core values of our nation, but for supporting one of the Lombard businesses which have contributed so positively to the community. Your responsible stand is in sharp contrast to those who have treated Chick-fil-A so unfairly and also appear to be trying to reap political capital on this issue.

Tom Paulsen

Wheaton