Bill de Blasio Urges Boycott of Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A's anti-LGBT record has left a bad taste in the mouth of Bill de Blasio.

The New York mayor urged the city's residents not to eat at the fast-food chain, which is preparing to open a location at the Queens Center Mall this fall. It will become the fourth Chick-fil-A in New York City.

Chick-fil-A unleashed a firestorm of controversy in 2012 when its CEO Dan T. Cathy spoke out against same-sex marriage, which sparked a boycott from LGBT groups. In the past, the company has also donated millions of dollars to the fight against marriage equality.

"What the ownership of Chick-fil-A has said is wrong," de Blasio said at a Tuesday press conference, according to DNA Info.

"I'm certainly not going to patronize them and I wouldn't urge any other New Yorker to patronize them," he continued. "But they do have a legal right."

To date, Cathy has not expressed a change of heart on same-sex marriage. But a spokesperson for Chick-fil-A defended how the company treats its customers and nearly 80,000 employees.

"The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender," she said.

In the past, de Blasio has boycotted New York's St. Patrick's Day parade for its policy that forbade LGBT groups from marching. He helped open the parade to LGBT marchers earlier this year.

In March, de Blasio issued an executive order assuring that in city-owned buildings, transgender and gender-nonconforming people will be able to use the sex-segregated restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities comporting with their gender identity. He also banned travel to North Carolina in the wake of the state's passage of anti-LGBT legislation.