A Florida gun shop owner declared Tuesday his shop will not serve Muslims in light of the shooting rampage in Tennessee last week that left four Marines and a Navy sailor dead, reports USA Today.
Andy Hallinan, owner of Florida Gun Supply, uploaded a video Saturday to the store’s Facebook page explaining his moral and legal duty to protect his fellow patriots from harm. In the video, Hallinan speaks with the Confederate flag in the background.
The video was largely a response to the shooting rampage in Chattanooga last week, in which Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a Kuwait-born gunman, killed four Marines and a sailor.
He also mentions how racism was on the decline before President Obama took office in the video.
“Now the leaders of our country are telling you that anytime a Black man is shot by a White cop, it was because of race,” Hallinan said. “Don’t believe their lies.”
The video had more than 40,000 views by Tuesday morning.
This is not the first time a store owner has declared his or her business “Muslim-free.” Some businesses also prohibited Muslims after the Boston Marathon bombing and Sept. 11 attacks.
A spokesman from the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that the prohibition is blatantly illegal and has requested the Justice Department to further investigate Florida and New Hampshire businesses for possible federal civil rights violations.
You can read further comments from CAIR and specifics about Hallinan’s video on USA Today.