Protesters Disrupt Chick-fil-A Grand Opening in Laguna Hills

At the O.C. Register, "Gay youths protest at Laguna Hills Chick-fil-A."

This is how stupid these people are:

Locally, Cathy's comments prompted members of Youth Empowered to Act, a group with The Center Orange County, to plan the protest.

The youth group decided Chick-fil-A's latest Orange County restaurant opening would be "the perfect time and place to bring attention to the discriminatory policies and beliefs of Chick-fil-A," executive director Kevin O'Grady said.

Youth program director Laura Kanter said the purpose of the protest is to let consumers know "where the charitable arm of this corporation sends its money.

"We want to alert consumers that if they're spending their money at Chick-fil-A, some of that money can be spent against LGBT people and their families," she said.

Kanter noted donations to organizations such as the Family Research Council by WinShape Foundation, a nonprofit charity started in 1984 by Cathy's parents, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and his wife, Jeannette.

The Family Research Council "believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large," according to its website.

So far no one has demonstrated that Chick-fil-A discriminates. And of course, the owner is free to his political opinions, and he can contribute to any interest group he so pleases. There's video from the Register as well: "Chick-fil-A cancels camp out amidst protest." And see NBC News Los Angeles, "Orange County Chick-fil-A Opening Greeted by Gay-Rights Protesters."

In related news Glenn Greenwald is pushing back against the fascism in Chicago, "Rahm Emanuel’s dangerous free speech attack" (via Memeorandum):

It’s always easy to get people to condemn threats to free speech when the speech being threatened is speech that they like. It’s much more difficult to induce support for free speech rights when the speech being punished is speech they find repellent. But having Mayors and other officials punish businesses for the political and social views of their executives — regardless of what those views are — is as pure a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech as it gets, and beyond that, is genuinely dangerous.

RTWT.

Scott Lemieux at LGM agrees with Greenwald, although his commenters really, really hate Chick-fil-A (and would like to shut 'em down):

[CEO] Cathey has, in fact, committed [discriminatory] acts. Donating money to organizations that seek to deny me equal rights under the law is an act, and if he and his company and his precious little dog suffer for it, tough shit. If conservatives wanna dish it out, then they can damn well take it.

Fuck him, his chickens, and the drooling Jesus goons who support him.

It goes back and forth like that at the post

Now, somewhat surprisingly, Steve M. at No More Mr. Nice Blog agrees with Greenwald only on practical grounds, and thus disagrees with the First Amendment argument (which shows Steve's a fascist). And here's idiot left-wing fascist Tom Hilton in the comments:

I basically agree with you on the practicalities of the thing. (On the other hand, I think if it does come down to that war the yahoos lose out way more than we do, simply because the most economically dynamic areas of the country are mostly very liberal.)

But Greenwald is, in typically libertardian fashion, full of shit on the principle of the thing. Advocating discrimination is fundamentally not the same thing as advocating anti-discrimination--and in certain contexts, the law actually recognizes that (e.g., the law does not protect speech that creates a hostile environment for a protected class).

Again, how stupid can one be? Boston and Chicago are discriminating against Chick-fil-A, on the basis of political speech no less, constitutionally protected. The progs are going batsh*t crazy on this, and it's really disgusting. Stupid and disgusting. And fascist.

More at Memeorandum.