Today (November 24, 2015)
, a Florida federal judge granted a motion to dismiss filed by the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), dismissing a lawsuit filed by CAIR Florida against AFLC’s client, Florida Gun Supply.
In the lawsuit, CAIR alleged that Florida Gun Supply’s refusal to equip Islamic terrorists is religious discrimination in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act.
On July 29th, CAIR Florida filed the lawsuit against Florida Gun Supply because its owner declared in a YouTube video that his retail gun store is a “Muslim Free Zone” following the Chattanooga, Tennessee terrorist attack in which five service members were gunned down.
The owner of the gun store, Andy Hallinan, refuses to equip the next Paris-type terrorist with dangerous firearms. Consequently, pursuant to its official, written policy, Florida Gun Supply will not serve “[a]nyone who is either directly or indirectly associated with terrorism in any way . . .”
Despite Hallinan’s legitimate concerns about public safety—concerns which have been confirmed most recently with the deadly terrorist attacks in France and the claims by ISIS to engage in similar attacks here in the United States—CAIR Florida sued Florida Gun Supply in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging religious discrimination.
AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert Muise commented:
“As our motion and now the court’s ruling make clear, CAIR’s lawsuit was patently frivolous if not outright dangerous. No firearms dealer or gun range owner for that matter should be required to sell weapons to or train anyone that the dealer or owner has reason to believe is a terrorist threat. We all have a civic responsibility to prevent the next terrorist attack. CAIR’s lawsuit was an effort to prevent business owners from doing so.”
In its ruling granting AFLC’s request to dismiss CAIR’s lawsuit, the court stated that it
“must agree that [CAIR] has insufficiently alleged imminent harm. The Complaint contains only bald, conclusory allegations devoid of factual enhancement.”
The court stated further that
“the general desire of [CAIR] in this case to have Muslims able to access [Florida Gun Supply’s] shooting range someday in the future is insufficient . . . There are simply no facts grounding the assertion that [CAIR] and/or one of its constituents will be harmed—[CAIR] has failed to allege when and in what manner the alleged injuries are going to occur.”
Consequently, because CAIR could not show any harm or injury, the court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi commented:
“This dismissal was yet another AFLC victory against CAIR and its jihadi lawfare against patriotic Americans across the country. This victory follows on the heels of a recent victory against CAIR in a Michigan federal court where CAIR’s subpoenas were quashed and CAIR’s nefarious client sanctioned for abusive practices. CAIR was born from a jihadi terrorist conspiracy, and it has done little to distance itself from those bona fides. CAIR is on notice: if you attempt to use the courts to conduct your civilizational jihad, AFLC will be there to defend law-abiding, patriotic Americans and our nation’s national security. We will match and defeat your civilization jihad with our constitutional lawfare in every courtroom across the nation.”