It was five months ago that Jan Morgan prohibited Muslims from using her gun range in Hot Springs, Ark. While many assumed that the ban would bring lawsuits from civil right enforcers, the result has actually been in inflation of business for the gun shop owner.
“We are dealing in lethal firearms. I’m not going to let a Nazi shoot in here, or a Ku Klux Klan member in here, either,’ states Morgan to Fox News, who believes she doing an act of public safety for the community.
Morgan made the decision, which she claims, in not a constitutional right, after she declared two Muslim patrons as suspicious back in September. After monitoring the two and hearing the customers, “Allahu Akhbar” ringtone, she decided to ban Muslims from her shooting range all together. She decides acceptance based on names, and if the name sounds Muslim she will deny entry.
Morgan has stated that her business is up, but she has been receiving threats, which she does not seem to be concerned with. Even though nothing has been done yet by federal agencies, two groups have reached out to Morgan and to attorneys regarding what they concern is a civil rights breach.
One of the groups, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder where they urged, “Given the recent spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric, including Islamophobic statements by government officials, community leaders and media outlets, death threats, and other bias incidents targeting Muslims, I urge you to investigate this matter soon. CAIR believes that systematically banning Muslims from a place of business is a violation of federal laws prohibiting racial and religious discrimination and will inevitably result in a hostile environment for ordinary Muslims in Arkansas.”
While the other group, The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has petitioned Morgan’s actions, and Executive Director Rita Sklar told Fox News that, “It’s discrimination based on religion, or, in this case, perceived religion and is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It isn’t based on that person’s behavior or anything they could reliably use that could be used to bar the person from the premises.”
While these groups are reaching out on a federal level, Legal experts point out that Morgan may be allowed to ban Muslims if the shooting range is classified as a private club. She just may have to prove that her club is private and not a public establishment where such segregation is illegal.
AP Photo/Robert Ray
