As Chicago became the latest city to tell Chick-fil-A it isn't welcome because its president doesn't support gay marriage, legal experts said the communities don't have a drumstick to stand on. 
 
 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel became the second big-city mayor to blast the company over president Dan Cathy's comment last week that he is “guilty as charged” for supporting the traditional definition of marriage. Emanuel spoke up after Alderman Proco Joe Moreno announced he intends to block the chain from opening its second Chicago location over his stance. 
 
 But barring the popular fast-food restaurant over the personal views of Cathy is an “open and shut” discrimination case, legal scholars told FoxNews.com. 
 
 “The government can regulate discrimination in employment or against customers, but what the government cannot do is to punish someone for their words,” said Adam Schwartz, senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “When an alderman refuses to allow a business to open because its owner has expressed a viewpoint the government disagrees with, the government is practicing viewpoint discrimination.” 
 
 "What the government cannot do is to punish someone for their words.” - Adam Schwartz, American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois 
 
 The ACLU “strongly supports” same-sex marriage, Schwartz said, but noted that if a government can exclude a business for being against same-sex marriage, it can also exclude a business for being in support of same-sex marriage. 
 
 “But we also support the First Amendment,” he said. “We don’ think the government should exclude Chick-fil-A because of the anti-LGBT message. We believe this is clear cut.” 
 
 Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University Law School, said Moreno’s intentions raises “serious” constitutional concerns. 
 
 “It’s also a very slippery slope,” Turley told FoxNews.com. “If a City Council started to punish companies because of the viewpoints of their chief operating officers, that would become a very long list of banned companies.” 
 
 If Moreno did indeed put such a plan into action, it would be “excessive and likely unconstitutional,” Turley said. 
 
 Wilson Huhn, a professor and associate director of the Constitutional Law Center at The University of Akron School of Law, echoed Turley’s stance, saying that a denial on behalf of Moreno regarding a second Chick-fil-A restaurant in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood would “absolutely” violate the First Amendment. 
 
 “It would be an open and shut case,” Huhn said. “You can’t do that. They cannot be denied a zoning permit based upon the viewpoint of their CEO.” 
 
 Moreno and Emanuel can express their personal opinion on the matter, Huhn said, including the organization of boycotts and protests against the fast food chain. 
 
 “But if official action were taken against Chick-fil-A based upon their opposition to same-sex marriage by denying them permits or to prevent their restaurant from expanding, that would absolutely be viewpoint discrimination,” Huhn said. 
 
 Meanwhile, in a statement released Thursday, the owner and operator of Chicago’s only Chick-fil-A restaurant — which created 97 jobs in the past year — invited Emanuel to meet with her. The invitation came after Emanuel said opening a second location in the city would be a “bad investment” following Moreno’s statement. 
 
 In a statement to FoxNews.com, Sarah Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Emanuel, said that the mayor said that Cathy did not share Chicago’s values. 
 
 “He did not say that he would block or play any role in the company opening a new restaurant here,” Hamilton said in a statement to FoxNews.com. “If they meet all the usual requirements, then they can open their restaurant, but their values aren't reflective of our city.” 
 
 The Atlanta-based chain declined to comment for this story. 
 
 Reached by phone Thursday, Moreno first appeared to back away from his stance, saying traffic concerns drive his objections to the store. But when pressed, Moreno refused to back off his criticism of Cathy’s position on same-sex marriage. 
 
 “No, I’m not saying that, I’m not walking back about from that,” Moreno said when asked if his objection to the restaurant has nothing to do with Cathy’s beliefs. “That’s another part of it .. I think businesses should be neutral on that. They should be selling chicken.” 
 
 Last week, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald that “it will be very difficult” for Chick-fil-A to obtain licenses for a restaurant in Boston. But on Thursday, Menino backed away from that threat, saying he won’t actively block the chain. 
 
 “I can’t do that,” he told the Herald. “That would be interference to his rights to go there.” 
 
 And in a letter dated Wednesday, Philadelphia City Councilman James Kenney wrote a letter to Cathy criticizing him for his comments. 
 
 "As an American you are legally entitled to your opinion, regardless of how insensitive and intolerant it may be, but as a fellow American and an elected member of Philadelphia City Council; I am entitled to express my opinion as well," Kenney wrote. "So please – take a hike and take your intolerance with you. There is no place for this type of hate in our great City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection." 
 
 Despite the emotional issue of same-sex marriage, Cathy's position is not out of the mainstream. A USA Today/Gallup Poll in May showed 50 percent of Americans approved of gay marriage and 48 percent opposed it. That poll was taken one day before President Obama, who had previously said he was against same-sex marriage, but that his position was "evolving," came out in favor of it. 
 
 Evangelist Billy Graham on Thursday issued a statement in support of Cathy and Chick-fil-A for its “strong Christian” faith. 
 
 “I've known their family for many years and have watched them grow Chick-fil-A into one of the best businesses in America while never compromising their values,” the statement read. “Each generation faces different issues and challenges, but our standard must always be measured by God's word. I appreciate the Cathy family's public support for God's definition of marriage … As the son of a dairy farmer who milked many a cow, I plan to 'Eat Mor Chikin' and show my support by visiting Chick-fil-A next Wednesday." ||||| As fans gathered to celebrate the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in Laguna Hills, a planned protest disrupted the event. Protestors are unhappy about comments made by the company's chief executive that oppose gay marriage. Janet Kwak reports for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on July 25, 2012. (Published Wednesday, July 25, 2012) 
 
 Fans were already camped out Wednesday night to prepare for the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A in Laguna Hills, but a protest planned for Thursday morning caused a change of plans when the company made everyone who was camped out leave. 
 
 The controversy started when the president of Chick-fil-A made a statement in support of what he calls "traditional marriage." 
 
 In an interview with the Baptist press, Dan Cathy said his company, founded on Christian values, is "very much supportive of family, the biblical definition of a family unit. We are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that." 
 
 That's why the youth at Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center spent the night putting together signs calling for a boycott. 
 
 "The company itself has a charitable arm that has been donating millions of dollars to anti-LGBT groups," says Laura Kanter, of The Center Orange County. 
 
 But support is strong on both sides of the debate. 
 
 "I love it, that makes me want to come here even more, and enjoy the great family values that Chick-fil-A stands for," said Michele Green. 
 
 Fans of the chicken chain were drawn, in part, to camp out overnight because the first 100 people at a grand opening usually get a year's worth of free meals. 
 
 Chik-fil-A – free or otherwise – has felt pressure from several U.S. cities in recent weeks to back out of scheduled grand openings. Chicago and Boston leaders vowed to block the chain from opening in their cities this week. 
 
 The Jim Henson Company, creator of the Muppets, also said it would not partner with the chain. 
 
 Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment:iPhone/iPad App | Facebook| Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | RSS | Text Alerts | Email Alerts ||||| Feathers are flying over Boston Mayor Thomas. M. Menino’s anti-Chick-fil-A crusade. 
 
 Menino admitted yesterday that his rant against the anti-gay marriage views espoused by company CEO Dan Cathy was not an indication that the city would deny permits to the chain. 
 
 Just an old rooster crowing his ‘opinion,’ he said. As for any impression that the city would act to block Chick-fil-A from opening in the city, that was a mistake. “I make mistakes all the time. That’s a Menino-ism,” he told the Herald. 
 
 » PDF: Mayor Menino’s letter to Chick-fil-A 
 
 But oh, haven’t the chickens come home to roost on this one. 
 
 Outraged that a big city mayor would interfere with a business on the basis of a person’s opinion, former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee put out the call for a “Support Chick-fil-A” day on August 1. 
 
 Huckabee’s missives on Facebook promoting Chick-fil-A day have racked up thousands upon thousands of comments, likes and shares. 
 
 On the other side of the debate, Menino’s office is being hailed across social media as well. The city of Boston posted the Mayor’s original letter to Chick-fil-A on it’s Facebook community page only to see that document go viral, garnering more than 137,000 likes from around the globe. 
 
 So how much meat do you think is on the bone of this debate? 
 
 Was Menino’s letter to Chick-fil-a out of line? Or was he right to declare that “there is no place for discrimination on the Freedom Trail and no place for you company alongside it?” 
 
 We want to know what you think. 
 
 The Friday Throwdown happens 12-1 on bostonherald.com. Join in and be heard.
– Fast food lovers had camped out all night for the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A in Laguna Hills, California, but their plans were foiled this morning as gay rights protesters descended on the restaurant, and company management made everyone disperse, NBC San Diego reports. The chicken chain has suddenly become America's most controversial eatery after its president declared its opposition to same-sex marriage. In related news nuggets: The owner of Chicago's lone Chick-fil-A franchise is on a mission to meet with Rahm Emanuel and change his mind about the chain. Lauren Silich says she's not interested in politics. "I sell chicken," she tells 89 WLS. "There's nothing discriminatory in anything that we do." Emanuel had supported an effort to block a new Chick-fil-A location. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had likewise declared the chain unwelcome in Boston. But legal experts—including one ACLU lawyer—tell Fox News that banning the chain would be an "open and shut" case of discrimination. Indeed, Menino has admitted that he was only expressing an "opinion" and wouldn't actually try to block Chick-fil-A. "I make mistakes all the time," he tells the Boston Herald. "That's a Menino-ism."