Senator Ted Cruz has shared his opposition to Chick-fil-A being banned from San Antonio International Airport, claiming that fast food fans are being punished because of the company's philanthropic efforts.
The Texas Republican on Friday afternoon responded to news the restaurant was blocked from opening at the airport in April 2020 due to its donations to organizations that have expressed anti-LGBTQ views.
'The citizens of beautiful San Antonio deserve more delicious sandwiches, and fewer rabid attacks against companies because of their charitable giving to the community. Come on,' Cruz posted on Twitter alongside an article revealing the City Council voted to pass a project as long as the chicken eatery wasn't a part of it.
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Six councilmembers approved a move to ban Chick-fil-A from San Antonio International Airport as part of a new project coming in April 2020
Councilman Roberto Treviño made a motion to approve the Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement with Paradies Lagardère, 'provided it exclude the Chick-Fil-A concept'
Senator Ted Cruz has shared his opposition to Chick-fil-A being banned from San Antonio International Airport
As well as the post to 1.22 million on his government account, Cruz tweeted 'ridiculous' in response to the story on his personal Twitter page which has 3.3 million followers.
The move came after on Wednesday Think Progress shared tax documents from Chick-fil-A Inc. showing they donated $1.8million to discriminatory organizations.
It was despite a 2012 backlash against Chick-fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy who claimed America is 'inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.'
The company later vowed in a Facebook statement to 'leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena'.
International Economic Development Council president Jeff Finkle said after including Chick-fil-A in a conference on equality that he believed the company was reforming and that their tax returns would reflect that.
But tax returns show the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army in 2017. It was even more than in 2016.
Cruz tweeted 'ridiculous' in response to the story on his personal Twitter page which has 3.3 million followers
Tax documents from Chick-fil-A Inc. showing they donated $1.8million to discriminatory organizations, including $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
It was reported the Salvation Army had opposed legal protection for the LGBTQ community, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes had a policy that banned 'homosexual acts' and the Paul Anderson Youth Home taught troubled residents that homosexuality was wrong.
The chicken strip restaurant told Think Progress they stopped donating to the youth home after a 'blog post from 2010 surfaced that does not meet Chick-fil-A's commitment to creating a welcoming environment to all'.
But the damage was already done for the City of San Antonio, which on Thursday revealed District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño had made a motion to approve the Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement with Paradies Lagardère 'provided that it exclude the Chick-Fil-A concept'.
The amendment was approved by a vote of
