Islamic group sues gun store that says it's a 'Muslim-free zone'

Andrew Hallinan.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/TPM)

On Wednesday, the Florida state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sued a gun store that declared itself a "Muslim-free zone."

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In a complaint filed in federal court, CAIR accuses Florida Gun Supply of Inverness with violating the federal public accommodations law and seeks an injunction to stop the discrimination, Reuters reports. "We just can't let segregation rear its ugly head in Florida again," Hassan Shibly, chief executive director of the group, said. "This is part of Islamophobia that we need to challenge."

On July 18, the store's owner, 28-year-old Andrew Hallinan, posted on Facebook a video stating that the shop was a Muslim-free zone because of the shootings at military sites in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After the post went up, Hallinan invited Shibly to attend a course at Florida Gun Supply of Inverness and then explain the Koran to him, but Shibly said Hallinan later canceled the meeting. Hallinan's attorney, Robert Muise, says the lawsuit is "absolutely bogus."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.