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."

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 has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.