You'd think all these Democratic mayors would have better things to do than get themselves worked up about a businessman expressing his personal opinion about gay marriage.

Their schools are a disgrace, the crime rate is appalling, there is corruption a-plenty, they can't manage their own budgets -- but they can pander to gays and liberals by refusing to allow the expansion of a business that would give jobs to some of their citizens and pay taxes that would help ease their budget problems.

Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and now the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Vincent Gray, has taken the rhetoric a step farther and referred to Chick fil A as "hate chicken."

Washington Post:

C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Friday he would not support an expansion of Chick-fil-A in the District, referring to it as "hate chicken."

Gray issued his statement on Twitter after mayors in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco also stated that the company was not welcome due to president Dan Cathy's outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage.

"Given my long standing strong support for LGBT rights and marriage equality, I would not support #hatechicken," Gray wrote.

Earlier Friday, Gray declined to take a stand on the company, saying he needed more time to review its position on gay rights. But administration officials noted Gray has been a strong supporter of gay rights.

In 2010, when he was council chairman, Gray helped legalize same-sex marriage. Last month, as mayor, Gray signed into law what he called one of the nation's toughest anti bullying laws.

Gray waded into the Chick-fil-A debate even though the company does not have a big presence in the city and has no known plans for an expansion.

Though the company's Web site lists nearly two dozen locations in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, the only location in the District is on the grounds of Catholic University.

But wait a minute. We might allow "hate chicken" in DC after all, says the mayor's spokesman:

Pedro Ribeiro, a Gray spokesman, said the mayor's opposition to the company does not necessarily mean it could not open another store in the city.

"We will not support and don't want them here, but if they are legally entitled to a permit, they are legally entitled to a permit," Ribeiro said.

And with that ringing endorsement for First Amendment rights, the drama over nothing that distracts their citizens from the myriad problems that their mayors are not addressing continues.