Muslim student denied rifle purchase, alleges discrimination

After being denied from purchasing a gun earlier this month, a Muslim Santa Fe College student believes his religion motivated the Gainesville Bass Pro Shops to turn him away.

Malik Bakr, an 18-year-old business administration freshman, planned to buy a rifle from the outdoor chain’s Butler Plaza North location Nov. 18, intent on using the weapon for a hunting trip, he said.

He waited an hour and a half before an employee tended to him, Bakr said.

But before he could undergo a background check to buy the weapon at the 4526 SW Archer Road store, he said he felt the stare of another employee, who then slipped his co-worker a yellow slip of paper.

Soon enough, a manager approached Bakr, he said.

The manager told Bakr he felt uncomfortable selling him the rifle for fear he would give the weapon to someone else, which Bakr said he considered an unfounded fear. At the shop with him that day was his friend Heath Smiley, a 19-year-old who owns his own guns, he said.

“I came to the conclusion that there was nothing but racism, because there was no reason for these people to deny me a weapon,” Bakr said.

Bakr said the general manager of the store, Mike O’Brien, said he would look into the incident. He also offered to sell Bakr the weapon, which Bakr declined.

Via email, O’Brien declined to comment on the conversation, which he called confidential.

“Bass Pro Shops takes the selling of firearms very seriously, fully complying with all local, state and federal laws and regulations in place. Our store associates participate in extensive educational training programs that actively promote safety and responsibility,” O’Brien wrote in a statement.