Late Mayor Menino's Letter To Chick-Fil-A Makes The Rounds Again

BOSTON, MA — With the renewed possibility of Chick-fil-A roosting in Boston, a sharply worded letter from the late Boston Mayor Thomas Menino that went viral in 2012 is now making the rounds again. In the letter he lambasted Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy for his statements against same-sex marriage and said the fast food chain “would be an insult” to Boston.

“I was angry to learn on the heels of your prejudiced statements about your search for a site to locate in Boston,” he wrote. “There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.”

Read about the new store set to show up in Copley>>Chick-fil-A Could Be Coming To Boston

“When Massachusetts became the first state in the country to recognize equal marriage rights, I personally stood on City Hall Plaza to greet same sex couples coming here to be married,” the late mayor said. “It would be an insult to them and to our city’s long history of expanding freedom to have a Chick-fil-A across the street from that spot.”

Chick-fil-A came under fire from gay rights supporters in 2012 because of comments made by the fast food chicken chain’s CEO, Dan Cathy, expressing opposition to same-sex marriage. He told the Baptist Press that the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." The company that year also donated millions to anti-gay groups.

The controversy spurred protests at stores by activists as well as those who came to rally to support the company. Since then, the chain has backed away from its more public comments on the matter. It even opened a couple stores in New York City without much protest.

But Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey got pummeled this summer when he tweeted he ate at and supported Chick-fil-A during June, which is Pride Month. He apologized saying he'd forgotten about the connection with Chick-fil-A's past.

Earlier this month the chain indicated it plans to open its first Boston restaurant in Copley Square. Mayor Marty Walsh hasn't weighed in forcefully one way or the other so far.

Reaction on Reddit to the latest uncovering of the letter and Chick-fil-A's possible entry to Boston has been mixed.

"I don’t agree with their principles, but the food is fantastic," damitjake wrote in the comments.

"The protest isn't just because the owner has anti-LGBTQ views. It's because the company itself has donated money and food to anti-LGBTQ groups. So by going to the restaurants you are indirectly supporting these groups," someone else wrote.

"I don't think I'll ever want fast food chicken, but they seem to treat their employees well which is more than most corporations can say. Sure I wish the owner supported gay marriage but I don't see the same vitriolic protest against companies like Apple or Nestle who add far more suffering to the world," wrote another person.

Chick-fil-A Could Be Coming To Boston

Never miss another local news story: Get free local news alerts right to your inbox.

Photo by David Allen/Patch Staff