Gun range faces suit over policy banning Muslims
BUSINESS OWNERS’ ATTORNEY CITES ‘FREE SPEECH RIGHT’
MUSKOGEE — A Muslim man filed a federal discrimination lawsuit Wednesday, alleging the owners of an Oklahoma gun range turned him away because of their “Muslim-free” policy.
“They really seemed like decent people up until I told them I was Muslim,” Raja’ee Fatihah, a specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve, said at a news conference. “The whole point of this is to help people to understand that there is nothing to fear about Muslims, to get my story out there and, hopefully, to prevent this from happening to other people, not just Muslims but Americans of all faiths and no-faith traditions.”
The lawsuit states the owners of Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear in Oktaha have displayed a sign on a front window of the business since July that says, “This privately owned business is a Muslim-free establishment, we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Thank you.”
Oktaha is about 15 miles southwest of Muskogee.
The lawsuit alleges the owners are running “an explicitly segregated business” and violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Oklahoma anti-discrimination law.
The owners’ attorney, Robert Muise, said, “It’s not about religious discrimination, it’s about public safety. The law does not require a gun shop or gun range owner ... to equip or train the next terrorist ...
“They have a free speech right
to do that. ... If you don’t like the sign, then don’t go to their business,” said Muise, of Michigan. He is a co-founder of American Freedom Law Center. The center’s website says it “aggressively seeks to advance and defend our Nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage in courts all across our nation.”
The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed the lawsuit on behalf of Fatihah, 29, of Tulsa. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee.
“You cannot discriminate based on race, religion, gender, etc.,” Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU of Oklahoma, said at Wednesday’s news conference. “You cannot segregate your business if it is a public place. We believe that this complaint will be successful and we believe that, ultimately, the federal court ... will order the gun range in Oktaha to desegregate its business.”
At the news conference, Fatihah said he told the owners during his visit in October that he was a service member and there was nothing to fear.
The lawsuit alleges the owners, Chad and Nicole Neal, “armed themselves with handguns and refused to allow Fatihah to use the gun range.”
The lawsuit also alleges the owners asked Fatihah if he was there to murder them or commit an act of violence.
Fatihah said he was then made to leave on account of his faith.
“When I went to the range, I knew about the sign they had up. That is one of the reasons I chose to go there,” he said. “I thought that by putting a face to the label of ‘Muslim’ and giving them some personal interaction ... I could help them to understand that there was nothing to fear.
“The ACLU and CAIR did know that I was going and offered to help me should I have any trouble at the range.”
Muise said this type of litigation weakens national and local security.
Attorney calls suit ‘a political stunt’
“There’s nothing under either federal or state anti-discrimination laws that prohibits a business from engaging in political or public issue speech,” Muise said. “It’s obvious this was set up as a political stunt to create a confrontation so that CAIR could file this lawsuit.”
Muise said the owners told him that Fatihah was confrontational and belligerent while at the shop. Muise said his law firm recently defended a Florida gun supply store successfully in a similar case.