January 23, 2015 Mr. Steven H. Rosenbaum, Chief U.S. Department

ACLU
Steve Barger
Pn~sident
January 23, 2015
Mr. Steven H. Rosenbaum, Chief
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, NWB
Washington, D.C. 20530
Rita Sklar
ExecuUve Director
Holly Dickson
Legal Directo1·
Dir
fts
Crys Swindle
Office Manager
Re: Follow-up on Request for Department of Justice to Investigate Anti-Islamic
Discrimination at the Gun Cave shooting range in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Dear Chief Rosenbaum:
The purpose of this correspondence is to follow up with your office regarding the discriminatory
practices and policies of The Gun Cave, a shooting range and gun store in Hot Springs,
Arkansas, and to repeat our request that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate this matter.
Further information has become available since our correspondence of October 8, 2014. As a
recent news article shows, Jan Morgan, owner of The Gun Cave Indoor Firing Range, appears
to have refused service to a father and son because of their skin color. Please see the articles
"Father and Son Turned Away from "Muslim-free" Hot Springs Gun Range for Being Brown,"
published at the Arkansas Times blog on January 13, 2015, at
http://www. a rktimes. com/ArkansasBiog/arch ives/20 15/01 /13/father-and-son-turned-away-frommuslim-free-hot-springs-gun-range-for-being-brown
and "Hindu Man, Father 'Kicked Out' of Muslim-Free Gun Range" at:
http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/hindu-man-father-kicked-out-of-muslim-free-gunran/44485/Qa1zJ Bh6UCXfFzba8JAmg
Such conduct, if true, would be a clear violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because Ms.
Morgan denied two people service based solely on their perceived ethnicity and religious
affiliation at the gun range, a place of public accommodation covered by the Civil Rights Act.
Members of the public, including those who have been unlawfully excluded, are understandably
fearful of publicly challenging the illegality of exclusion of perceived Muslims from this facility.
With this additional information, we respectfully renew our request that your office investigate
this matter and take all appropriate action. We are including our previous letter and its enclosure
for your convenience.
Sincerely,
Encl.
904 West Second, Suite One • Little Rock, AR 7zzor • T: 5oi/374·Z66o • F: 501/374·Z84z • www.acluarkansas.org