Gun Shop Is Sued Over 'Muslim-Free Zone' Stance

Islamic group calls Florida store's rule discriminatory
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 30, 2015 5:13 AM CDT
Gun Shop Is Sued Over 'Muslim-Free Zone' Stance
A screen grab from the Florida Gun Supply video.   (Facebook)

The owner of a gun store in Florida who declared his shop to be a "Muslim-free zone" is now the target of a lawsuit. The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a federal lawsuit calling the policy at Florida Gun Supply discriminatory, reports Reuters. The move comes after owner Andrew Hallinan, 28, posted a video to Facebook announcing his new policy in the wake of the Chattanooga rampage. "I have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety of all patriots in my community," Hallinan says in the video, as quoted by NBC Miami. "So effective immediately, I'm declaring Florida Gun Supply as a Muslim-free zone. I will not arm and train those who wish to do harm to my fellow patriots."

But the chief executive of CAIR calls it blatant "Islamophobia" that must be challenged. "Unfortunately, he caved in to a lot of the anti-Muslim pressure and anti-Muslim base that he's pandering to," Hassan Shibly tells USA Today. "When he refused to reconsider his position, when he refused to reconsider to be educated, refused to engage this community, refused to respect American law, we had no choice but to bring forward this lawsuit." Meanwhile, Chris Martin, a US military veteran who converted to Islam, has traveled to Inverness, Florida, from California so he can try to enroll in a training course at the shop to challenge the ban, reports WFTS-TV. Federal agents are reportedly keeping a close eye on the situation. (More gun stores stories.)

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