CAIR calls on Justice Dept. to investigate store owner.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate a Florida gun store owner after he declared his business is a “Muslim-free zone†in a YouTube video.
“I will not arm and train those who wish to do harm to my fellow patriots,” Florida Gun Supply owner Andy Hallinan stated in the video, which has caused at least one employee to quit, according to the Washington Times.
“Our leaders are telling you that Islam is a peaceful religion full of tolerance and love and hope. Don’t believe their lies,†he continued, after giving a brief history on the Confederate battle flag.
He also announced that he is offering free concealed carry gun cases and wants “patriots” to “get armed, get trained, and carry daily … in case we are ever called upon to defend our lives or our community.”
The video, posted this weekend, has gone viral with thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
“I invite Andy, the gun shop owner, to break bread with us, to get to know us as his fellow Americans, as neighbors. We might be his doctor, his police officer, his firefighter. That’s what the American-Muslim community is, and I think he should get to know us and not let fear and hatred divide us as Americans,” CAIR representative Hassan Shibly stated, according to local news outlet WKMG.
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper took a more pointed approach to addressing Hallinan’s statements, reported NBC affiliate WFLA.
“These bigoted declarations are no different than ‘whites only’ signs posted in businesses during a period of our nation’s history that we had hoped was over,†he said, before iterating that the Department of Justice “must investigate these hate-filled and un-American business practices to determine whether federal civil rights laws are being violated.â€