Photo courtesy of Chick-fil-A

Mayor Vince Gray today joined the chorus of people who don’t consider themselves fans of Chick-fil-A, the southern fried chicken purveyor that has made national news by contributing money to organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.

After being initially queried on the topic today by Post reporter Tim Craig this afternoon, Gray said that he did not know enough about the restaurant to make a judgement call. But according to mayoral spokesman Pedro Ribeiro, after Gray was briefed by aides on the restaurant and the controversy surrounding it, he asked, “Why would I want one of those in the District?” In a later tweet, Gray added: “Given my longstanding strong support for LGBT rights & marriage equality, I would not support #hatechicken.”

Ribeiro stressed that while Gray wouldn’t want a Chick-fil-A in D.C., he “can’t go out of his way to discriminate against one store.” Boston Mayor Tom Menino recently made waves when he threatened to deny Chick-fil-A the needed permits to set up shop. Elected officials in Chicago recently promised to do the same.

If Chick-fil-A did want a D.C. store, Ribeiro said, it would have to comply with the provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Act, which broadly prohibits discrimination based on a number of characteristics. (Chick-fil-A has a food truck and a small outpost at Catholic University, but no full-service restaurant.)

Chick-fil-A’s donations to conservative groups that support traditional marriage have been funneled through the chain’s charitable foundation, though as Jezebel reported yesterday, the chain is being sued for a case of gender discrimination in Georgia.

.@timcraigpost Given my longstanding strong support for LGBT rights & marriage equality, I would not support #hatechicken

— Vincent C. Gray (@mayorvincegray) July 27, 2012