In a video now going viral, the owner of a Florida gun shop has taken to Facebook to announce his support of the Confederate flag. But that isn’t the only controversial thing in his video.
Because of the terror attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the gun shop owner has also proclaimed his shop a “Muslim-free zone,” a claim that has a Muslim advocacy group calling for his prosecution for violating Muslims’ civil rights.
On his Facebook page, Florida Gun Supply owner Andy Hallinan posted a video with a caption saying that his message is a response to the attack in Tennessee.
“Due to the latest attack by an Islamic Extremist in Tennessee,” Hallinan says on the Facebook posing, “we’ve made some extreme changes to the way we are impacting our community. Watch to see our 3 new changes that will make America a safer place to live.”
The video shows Hallinan seated before a large Confederate flag as he begins discussing how the flag “represents nothing but the rich heritage of the South and the willingness of patriots to stand up against tyranny of all sorts.”
The gun shop owner goes on to say that “racism was on the decline” in the US until Obama became president. Hallinan then noted that there is now more racial strife in the US than there has been in decades.
Hallinan then says that our society is going far afield and our leaders are lying to us.
“Our leaders are telling you that the cross is a symbol of intolerance and hatred, bigotry and anti-homosexuality. Don’t believe their lies,” Hallinan continues. He goes on, adding, “Our leaders are telling us that Islam is a peaceful religion full of tolerance, and love, and hope. Don’t believe their lies.”
“We are in battle, patriots,” the gun shop owner adds, “but not only with Islamic extremism. We are also in battle against extreme political correctness that threatens our lives because if we can’t call evil ‘evil’ for fear of offending people, then we can’t really defeat our enemies.”
Hallinan then recounts the details of the terror attack in Tennessee and insists that our leaders are lying to us about it being an “isolated incident.”
The shop owner then notes that his shop will now be a “Muslim-free zone” and says that he will not sell any firearms or supplies to a Muslim because he refuses to “arm our enemies.”
Not long after the video was posted, a Muslim advocacy group began to rail against the video, calling for the Department of Justice to prosecute the gun shop owner.
“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,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “The Department of Justice must investigate these hate-filled and un-American business practices to determine whether federal civil rights laws are being violated.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.