The South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham, has apparently gotten into the game of granting Chick-fil-A lots of free advertising …
A full transcript of the above clip is this …
The bottom line is Conservatives are tolerant … we are …you know kind of get out of your business, you leave it alone, I leave you alone … its time to push back.
I’m sure this is a publicity stunt, but the idea that the state of New York is going to make a company change its policies that its had from its founding. They want to have one day off for their employees to recognise the lord and … and they can do it … and to the people in New York that are pushing this, you’re in for one hell of a fight.
Wait what! … “Conservatives are tolerant” … “get out of your business, you leave it alone, I leave you alone” … seriously!
FFS … that’s a rather absurd claim. Just ask Women seeking the right to choose, gay people, or trans people. Also ask people about missing books from libraries, etc… They are literally all about sticking their nose into everybody else’s business and not minding their own f**king business.
However, this is not about that. We can save that rant for another day.
So what is going on here, is NY indeed mandating that Chick-fil-A must be open on Sundays?
We will come to that shortly, but first a quick bit of background.
Who are Chick-fil-A?
Well yes, you know and I know, but perhaps some reading this in some far flung nation state does not, so let’s briefly cover the basics.
They are of course the well-known private fast food outlet that has outlets in almost every single US state.
Founded in 1946 by the devout Southern Baptist, S. Truett Cathy, they have had since they started a company policy of not being open for business on Sundays for religious reasons. Since the business still remains in the Cathy family and is now run by Dan Cathy, the son of the founder, the policy stands. He is, just like his dad, deeply religious and also deeply homophobic. The net impact is that Chick-fil-A has become a bit of a culture wars icon.
Is a no opening on Sunday rule something to be concerned about?
Well no. It’s a business decision by a private company. If they are not open that day then there are plenty of other outlets that are. To be wholly clear …
- This is OK : We do not open our business on a Sunday.
- This would not be OK : You can’t open your business on a Sunday. However, they don’t take that stance.
Also of note is that when it is appropriate then they do also bend their Sunday rule …
On December 17, 2017, Chick-fil-A broke their tradition and opened on a Sunday to prepare meals for passengers left stranded during a power outage at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport,[29] and on January 13, 2019, a Chick-fil-A franchise in Mobile, Alabama, opened on Sunday to honor a birthday wish of a 14-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and autism.[30]
But in general terms their Sunday rule still stands.
Sunday Rules taken to an extreme would be crazy
If it was dictated that Christians must never work on Sunday then society would have a major problem.
You don’t need to think too hard about that – hospital staff; emergency service staff; and what about the fire department, should they leave your house to burn until Monday?
However, if a fast food outlet decides to not operate on a Sunday, then honestly it is no big deal.
So why would New York mandate Sunday opening?
They answer is that they have not done that.
What is actually going on is that those who are prepared to be perpetually offended have presented a narrative that is a lie
So what is NY actually Doing?
No NY is not mandating that all Chick-fill-A outlets must be open on Sundays.
What is in the pipeline is A08336. The summary text for that act reads …
An act to amend the public authorities law and chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to contracts to provide food services at authority owned and operated transportation facilities and rest areas
The justification within the text reads …
To ensure that New York State’s transportation facilities offer a reliable source of food services.
…
The New York State Thruway Authority’s Service Area Redesign and Rede- velopment Project is currently rebuilding the 27 service areas along the Thruway through a public-private partnership. The travelling public and commercial trucking industry rely on these service areas to rest, refuel and to purchase food and beverages. In 2021, the Thruway Authority engaged Applegreen, an Irish convenience store chain, to take over the leases of all service areas.
Applegreen’s portfolio of companies include Chick-fil-A, which by compa- ny policy is closed on Sundays, and which has already opened at seven service areas. While there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedi- cated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant. Publicly owned service areas should use their space to maximally benefit the public. Allowing for retail space to go unused one seventh of the week or more is a disservice and unnecessary inconvenience to travelers who rely on these service areas.
This legislation will ensure that all future contracts for food concessions at transportation facilities owned by the Thruway Authority, as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will be required to operate seven days a week, with an exclusion to temporary concessions such as farmers markets or local vendors.
Clearing up a Key Myth – No NY is not mandating that existing outlets, such as the seven Chick-fil-A outlets at rest stops who have a no Sunday rule must now open on Sundays. The wording is clear – they are amending the law to mandate that future contracts for new outlets at highway rest stops in their state must have a “seven days a week opening” clause.
In other words, if Chick-fil-A wish to bid for more outlets then there are some rather blindly sensible contractual constraints that they would need to agree to for those new outlets – if this bill became law.
That’s it, that is the entire scope of this, and anything beyond that is pure unadulterated BS.
Summary
What Lindsey Graham is doing is deploying rage-mythology designed to tap into the supposed “Christian Persecution” narrative. Absolutely nobody is mandating that existing outlets must change their policy.
And yes, it is indeed weird to find that a South Carolina senator who takes the stance of “minding your own business and not interfering in what others do” is attempting to interfere in something that is quite frankly none of his damn business.
NY is not his state, nor are Chick-fil-A headquartered in his state, so he does not represent them.