LGBTQ Rainbow Flags To Fly At San Jose Airport

SAN JOSE, CA — Come June, rainbows will be found in more places than out the window of the Norman Mineta San Jose International Airport.

The Silicon Valley airport, as an arm of the city of San Jose, will be flying rainbow flags as a show of solidarity to the LGBTQ community. Staff is currently looking for the right spot for the flags, along with the blue, pink and white banners to represent transgender rights, airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes confirmed.

The San Jose City Council recently decided in a unanimous vote to erect the flags as a show of advocacy — in time to appease the community once reeling over the airport throwing out the welcome mat to a chain business long known for its history of supporting anti-LGBTQ causes.

According to the Huffington Post, "more than 120,000 people from different backgrounds and beliefs represent the Chick-fil-A brand.” Still, the restaurant chain has thrown its monetary support behind anti-LGBTQ organizations like Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, which bans any "homosexual acts even for married couples."

The controversy has spread across Texas and New York in which those states backpedaled from Chick-fil-A bringing in franchises of the fast-food chain in their airports, despite the fact the restaurant chain has publicly denounced how it is characterized, the Post added.

In San Jose, the business decision to bring Chick-fil-A on board had already been finalized.

In some respects, the city appeared backed into a corner, because just like zoning laws don't allow local governments to discriminate against companies if they meet the planning criteria, San Jose couldn't pull the welcome mat out from underneath the chain.

"If a business correctly operates in the zoned area, follows the law of the land and provides a service, then we're not supposed to discriminate," San Jose's Economic Development Director Elizabeth Handler explained.

It seemed like a touche maneuver except that in the same breath Handler emphasized how the city has routinely been "very supportive of pride month."

"I think it's a great idea for all travelers, whether they're from Santa Clara County or visiting. To have that message out there, affirms its support of the LGBTQ community," Santa Clara County LGBTQ Affairs spokeswoman Maribel Martinez told Patch. "It makes the best of perhaps not ideally the best situation."

Plus, the show of support may become exponential.

"We would encourage other business and public entities to have the flag out too," said Martinez, who applauded the city for having the insight to be proactive with "a positive message."

Martinez attended the city council meeting when the matter was discussed. She surmised that the Chick-fil-A approval "fell into a blind spot" in which the city staff would have benefited early on in the planning process by knowing the corporation's "history of discrimination."

In a region known for its diversity, inclusion, creativity and innovation, San Jose came up with the aha moment that flying the flags as a symbol of LGBTQ rights flies in the face of discrimination in the nick of time.

The timing of the compromise couldn't be any better. Chick-fil-A is slated to open in June, which is Gay Pride Month nationwide. The annual event was spun out of the Stonewall Riots of 1968 in which a group of drag queens fed up with harassment from police at the Stonewall bar in New York protested and consequently were arrested and beaten in the melee.