George Zimmerman Raffles Confederate Flag Painting For ‘Muslim-Free’ Gun Store

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After the owner of a Florida gun store came under scrutiny for declaring his shop a “Muslim-free zone,” George Zimmerman decided to help the store with a fundraiser selling Confederate flag prints.

Andrew Hallinan, the owner of Florida Gun Supply, announced the fundraiser in a Monday video. He said that both the Confederate flag and George Zimmerman were “mistreated” by the media, though he acknowledged that the Confederate battle flag has been used by racists.

“The history of the Confederate flag is not one about racism, but I fully agree that there have been groups that use the flag for racial profiling and inciting hatred. I fully condemn the use of the Confederate flag for anything other than heritage and Southern pride,” Hallinan said.

He added that a “cultural cleansing” has begun in the U.S., and that he feels he needs to protect the Confederate flag.

According to the Florida Gun Supply website, Zimmerman painted a Confederate flag with a caption about the First and Second Amendments in an attempt to help defend Hallinan.

“The caption, ‘the second protects the first’ is a double entendre,” Zimmerman told Florida Gun Supply. “The 2nd flag I painted was the Battle Flag — which we need in America in order to protect the first.”

The prints will be sold to fundraise for Zimmerman and Hallinan, who has been sued by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Anyone who buys one of the prints will be entered into a raffle to win the original painting by Zimmerman, according to the gun shop’s website.

Watch the Florida Gun Supply video:

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: