Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, traced the history of book banning in New England to the 1651 ban on "The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption," a book written by William Pynchon, which was critical of Puritanism.

Two centuries later, Anthony Comstock and the like banned books based on sexual content.

By the mid-20th century, theater owners were using the phrase "banned in Boston" to advertise the sexual content of the film they were showing.

Eventually the U.S. Supreme Court took all the fun out of the sport of censoring and getting around censors by ruling in 1966 that the First Amendment protects "Fanny Hill."

Censors went the way of the town crier, and in seven years we were all at the theater watching "Deep Throat."

Now Mayor Tony Menino of Boston has dusted off "banned in Boston" and applied it to Christians.

Menino sent a letter unwelcoming Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, to Boston. Chick-fil-A is a chain of fast-food restaurants.

Cathy makes no bones about his Christianity and closes his outlets on Sunday. Cathy also said he supports the traditional family, which some people assume means he opposes gay marriage.

Mayor Menino, a Democrat, is one of those people.

"I was angry to learn on the heels of your prejudiced statements about your search for a site to locate in Boston," wrote the mayor to Cathy.

"There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail, and no place for your company alongside it. When Massachusetts became the first state in the country to recognize equal marriage rights, I personally stood on City Hall Plaza to greet same-sex couples coming here to be married.

"It would be an insult to them and to our city's long history of expanding freedom to have a Chick-fil-A across the street from that spot."

What a hoot.

The mayor's argument is that Boston is so tolerant that it will not tolerate people who do not conform to its definition of tolerance.

Not to be outdone, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, also a Democrat, decided to out-rainbow Menino by declaring he will not allow Chick-fil-A to expand in Chicago.

"Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values," Emanuel said.

"They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you're gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values."

Given all the crime, murder and corruption in the Windy City, Cathy and his company might not want to do that.

I am all for gay marriage. Your marriage does not affect mine.

Unlike these liberal mayors running Boston and Chicago, I am tolerant and respectful of the views of others on the subject.

We live in a land built on religious freedom, and yet we have a long history of religious intolerance. Menino and Emanuel are reactionaries, as were the people who censored William Pynchon 361 years ago.

As far as I can tell, Cathy has not discriminated against anyone. There are no gaydar detectors guarding the gates of Chick-fil-A from hordes of hungry homosexuals.

But Mayors Menino and Emanuel are attempting to discriminate against Cathy for his religious beliefs.

What would their reaction be if Cathy were a Muslim who defended the traditional family?

In the case of Emanuel, we already know. This week, he welcomed the support of Louis Farrakhan in fighting the crime that has overwhelmed Chicago.

Farrakhan is the head of the Nation of Islam. Two months ago, Farrakhan blasted President Obama for supporting gay marriage.

Now we know what Chicago values - nothing.

The attempt to ban Chick-fil-A may work as well as banning "Fanny Hill" did.

As the controversy unfolded, Chick-fil-A has had a surge of customers in recent days.

Surber may be reached at donsur...@dailymail.com.