Why can't all mayors be like this one?

Sometimes politicians do reprehensible things, and sometimes they do things you can admire. Put Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in the latter category.

After Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy publicly announced his company's anti-equality stance earlier this week, saying same-sex marriage "invites God's judgment on our nation," Mayor Menino vowed to keep Chick-fil-A out of Boston, even possibly from a popular tourist spot just steps from the Freedom Trail.

Said Menino to the Boston Herald yesterday, "Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion.

"That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail."

You've got to love a political leader who is willing to put equality and what is right over what might make the most business sense. I'd love to see more leaders follow Menino's example.

And just to beat the Chick-fil-A horse a tiny bit more, in case you didn't see it, the company issued an interesting non-apology apology after Dan Cathy's statements caught the ire of many and led to customers across the country promising to boycott. (Rumor has it a number of franchisees were irritated that Cathy made the company's stance public because it would hurt their business.)

The company said:

"The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect—regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.

"Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

"Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

In other words, you know how we stand, but we're not going to remind you anymore.