Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the city of San Antonio to retrieve documents relating to its decision to block a Chick-fil-A vendor from its airport.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, seeks emails and internal communications from city workers and city council members relating to the vendor contract.
City Council Member Roberto Trevino, who introduced the proposal to block the chain at the airport, cited its “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior,” prompting Texas Republicans to accuse the city of violating the company’s religious liberty.
“The City of San Antonio claims that it can hide documents because it anticipates being sued,” Paxton stated.
“But we’ve simply opened an investigation using the Public Information Act. If a mere investigation is enough to excuse the City of San Antonio from its obligation to be transparent with the people of Texas, then the Public Information Act is a dead letter. The city’s extreme position only highlights its fear about allowing any sunshine on the religious bigotry that animated its decision.”
But San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia pushed back at Paxton’s claims.
“It is clear from the strident comments in his press release that any ‘investigation’ would be a pretense to justify his own conclusions,” Segovia told the Austin American-Statesman.
Paxton initially made the Texas Public Information Act request on April 11; the city denied the request, saying they were authorized to withhold documents that could be involved in future lawsuits.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week it is also investigating the discrimination claims.
Paxton’s lawsuit argued allowing the city an exemption on these grounds would neutralize the Public Information Act.
“Instead of allowing the routine process take its course, the AG decided to sue and not wait for a decision from his own department,” Segovia countered, the American-Statesman reported.
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