Here we go again. We were just discussing the subject of people trying to block Chick-fil-A restaurants from publicly owned airports yesterday. I found myself wondering if this wasn’t going to turn into a trend in other parts of the country. As the saying goes… that didn’t take long. There’s another push to prevent the franchise that makes those delicious chicken sandwiches from opening up at the airport in San Jose, California. And the complaints being raised are carbon copies of the last two in Texas and New York. (CBS San Francisco)

San Jose’s LGBTQ community is protesting the construction of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant inside Mineta San Jose International Airport. Chick-fil-A financially supports groups that oppose LGBTQ rights.

The restaurant was approved more than a year ago as part of a package deal with several other restaurants in a contract with the airport’s food and beverage concessionaire.

But to Ken Yeager, San Jose’s first openly gay councilmember and supervisor, the decision to allow it at the publicly owned airport is a head scratcher.

“This is going to be people’s very first impression of San Jose and what are they going to see? They’re going to see a store known for its anti-gay attitudes and for funding anti-gay groups.

Unfortunately for Councilman Yeager, it may be too late to prevent the store from opening. The council approved the plan for the new restaurant (along with a Shake Shack, Great American Bagel and Trader Vic’s) more than a year ago. The plan is already rolling out, so it might be tricky to try to force them out now. And not to put too fine of a point on this, but wasn’t Yeager on the council when the plan was approved? Couldn’t he have spoken up then?

For their part, the other members explained that they “somehow overlooked the issue” when approving the plan. That’s probably because banning Chick-fil-A from airports hadn’t become trendy among liberals yet back then and it probably didn’t even cross their minds. Now that it’s all the rage there are people who want to jump on the bandwagon. In what appears to be a compromise (at least for now) it looks like they will still allow the restaurant to open but they’ll install a rainbow flag near it.

The local coverage is full of quotes about how the restaurant “supports groups that oppose LGBTQ rights” and promotes “anti-gay attitudes.” In reality, of course, the franchise wants to attract as many people as possible and sell as much chicken as they can. They don’t discriminate against customers or refuse them service over being gay or anything else. It’s a business and a very popular one at that.

If Yeager and his friends are bothered by Chick-fil-A, don’t eat there. I’m all in favor of that sort of protest because it just means shorter lines for the rest of us when getting lunch.