Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear store face two federal charges filed by two U.S. activists groups after refusing to give its service to a Muslim and posting that the establishment is 'Muslim-Free.'
Running "an explicitly segregated business" and violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Oklahoma anti-discrimination law are the grounds of the lawsuit by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Oklahoma Chapter and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.
The suit is filed in behalf of Raja'ee Fatihah, 29, a U.S. Army reservist and investigator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
The owners posted in the entrance of their store a post which states, "This privately owned business is a Muslim-free establishment, which reserves the right to refuse service to anyone."
In a news conference, Fatiha narrated that the owners seemed like decent people until when he said about his religion.
"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," he said.
He also added that when tried to talk with the owners about their fear of the Muslim. They just asked him to leave.
"Shooting is something I do as a hobby, and I also practice to keep up my skills as a reservist. When I went to the range, it went normally until I told them I was Muslim," said Fatihah.
"The longer we talked, the less willing they were to allow me to use their facilities. Ultimately, they asked me to leave," he said.
Robert Muise, the lawyer of the store owners said that it is not about religious discrimination, it is 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," he added.
Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU of Oklahoma, counter-argued, "You cannot discriminate based on race, religion, gender, etc. 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."
Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear store failed to respond to the requests of the comment. Rules of Court provide that they have 20 days to make a formal response to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee.
