Florida Gun Shop Owner Sued For Declaring ‘Muslim-Free Zone’

Albert Mestre [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Albert Mestre [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Andy Hallinan, the owner of a gun shop, was sued by CAIR for discrimination.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sued Andrew Hallinan, a Florida gun shop supply owner, after he declared his shop a “Muslim-free zone,” USA Today reports

His actions were the direct result of the shootings perpetrated by a Muslim-American man in Chattanooga, Tennessee earlier in July. 

Hallinan said he had a “moral and legal responsibility” to act and he would “not arm and train those who wish to do harm to [his] fellow patriots”.

The Florida chapter of CAIR claims that Hallinan is discriminating against Muslims by instituting a policy that segregates based on religious beliefs.  They also criticized Hallinan for acting against an entire religion because of the actions of one person. 

After the request for injunction, Hallinan had agreed to meet and train CAIR-FL’s executive director Hassan Shibly.

However, he canceled the meeting after receiving many emails stating that CAIR has been listed as a terrorist group by the United Arab Emirates.  Hallinan’s lawyer, Robert Muise of the American Freedom Law Center, cited the 2007 case in which CAIR was implicated as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in aiding Hamas, which the United States has declared as a terror group.

Muise went on to say that nobody was discriminated against because of his or her religious beliefs, but instead this was an issue of public safety

Shibly countered Muise’s claim reminding that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Justice Department had violated CAIR’s and other groups’ Fifth Amendment rights during the 2007 case.

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