Would you boycott a restaurant with anti-gay owners? The decision has been taken out of your hands

Personally I don’t agree with Chick-fil-A’s beliefs, but should they have been forced out of business?

When I buy a kebab, I don’t ask whether the owner of the shop believes in gay marriage. But the simple act of eating fast-food has become a battleground for some LGBT+ campaigners.

The third largest food outlet in the USA, Chick-fil-A, turned over $10.5bn in 2018. The company has made no secret of its Christian values; even in 2019, its stores close on Sundays for religious reasons.

When Chick-fil-A opened its first outlet in the UK, in Reading, it was targeted by gay rights campaigners who accused the company of homophobia. Reading Pride claimed the chain’s “ethical and moral stance goes completely against our values and that of the UK, as we are a progressive country that has legalised same-sex marriage”. A mere eight days later, Reading’s Oracle shopping centre announced it would not be renewing the shop’s six-month lease.