Several conservative writers, notably Michelle Malkin in today’s Washington Examiner, have already criticized Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno and Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino for their moves to block the fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A from opening outlets in their precincts. Chick-fil-A’s offense: opposition to same-sex marriage. Chick-fil-A was founded by S. Truett Cathy who makes no secret of his espousal of Christian values; unlike other fast food restaurants, it’s not open on Sunday. His son and the firm’s current president Dan Cathy in a recent interview made it clear that he is opposed on religious grounds to same-sex marriage.

                Conservatives like Malkin and libertarians like megablogger Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit are not the only ones who are outraged by this; so are the liberal editorial writers of the Boston Globe. Their point is simple, and based on Supreme Court rulings: it’s wrong and unconstitutional under the First Amendment for government to deny business licenses because of an applicant’s speech and beliefs. As the Globe rightly notes, “If the mayor of a conservative town tried to keep out gay-friendly Starbucks or Apple, it would be an outrage.”