Posted on 06/29/2026 4:21:46 AM PDT by marktwain
A South Carolina condominium association has told residents they may no longer carry firearms through many of the shared spaces surrounding their own homes, including parking lots, sidewalks, and the community mail kiosk.
The sweeping restriction at Forest Pines Condominiums in Horry County is drawing objections from residents and raising serious questions about how far a homeowners association may go in regulating the lawful carry of firearms.
According to an email obtained by WMBF News, firearms, “whether openly carried or concealed,” are prohibited in Forest Pines common areas, including:
The email goes on to say residents may lawfully possess firearms inside their private residences, and may even transport firearms to and from their vehicles, as long as it is not “displayed, handled, or carried” through the common areas more than what is “reasonably necessary”.
A serious question arises about the HOA’s authority to do this and/or what is required by state law in order to do this.
HOAs can make rules for people who live in the property covered by the HOA. The HOA cannot impose criminal penalties. They may impose fines or sanctions, such as limiting access to HOA facilities.
Private property owners can ban people who are not owners from bringing firearms onto the private property. South Carolina Code § 23-31-235 (2025) concerns signs that are required to be posted in order to prohibit the carrying of concealable weapons, whether openly or concealed.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
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All of the owners should be voting on this or get on the Board and overturn it and then recall Karen Carpetbagger from New England.
I would’ve thought that the HOA would be on solid ground legally. But with the Wolford decision I’m not so sure.
CC
Not “displayed, handled or carried”?!
The gun will not walk itself or fly itself
I wonder if it is a litigable point of contention whether sweeping property owner rights, such as those given to HOAs by their members, include overriding the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights? If this has been challenged elsewhere, it may apply to this state, or be addressed in Federalism and State’s rights cases regarding 2nd Ammendment case law.
Yankee weasels forming packs. I lived in a HOA community in South Carolina. It was great. But as the years went by, new residents from Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, all began arriving and imposing their superior ethics on our patch of happy. Fortunately, a job transfer got us a clean departure.
Concealed means concealed. That said, HOA do not override the Constitution. Carry and ignore the edict and sue them into oblivion. Better yet move out, so loser lefty will buy your property to live in a “Panacea” of communism.
An HOA in Florida recently tried something similar and got body slammed by the AG.
Of course that was Florida....still a sane place to live.
Remember …. Elon’s new film …….
He is awesome.
These are corporations, and own the common lands in the neighborhood. Only the government must abide by the Constitution.
you win dumbest post of the month. You absolutely blew past any forethought in your post.
let me get you up to speed. The hoa board is the people in the community,I doubt you could find a majority of people living in any HOA that would support anyone's right to bear arms.
you'd sooner find a florida pond without alligators then an HOA in s.c. not full of Karen's who hate firearms, Donald Trump, motorcycles, mobile homes, boats and children.
This is why we have a constitution because an HOA is a mob , and when you listen to fools, the mob rules.
You can’t even close on a house in an HOA neighborhood unless you sign and agree to cooperate with the HOA.
Horry County emcompasses the Myrtle Beach area. Yankees have been flocking up there. If legally challenged it will get overturned. The ban is much too broad.
You ever had to live under an HOA?
I have. Two bit tyrants, and they do *not* represent the community.
Or is an HOA the most local form of gov’t?
Depends on the HOA. The one I was in had no common property. The HOA was voted out of existence after years of fighting because the HOA would keep trying to regulate people’s lives and then the BOD would be recalled. Or the lawyer would tell them they had no legal basis for doing X.
But it was in Arizona, so the laws regulating HOAs might be very different from the laws in SC.
“as long as it is not “displayed, handled, or carried” through the common areas more than what is “reasonably necessary”.”
I’m going to GUESS that is illegal if only because too vague to enforce. What is “reasonably necessary”? I spent some time on interim HOA BOD before our HOA was voted out of existence, and that was the sort of rule that the lawyer would tell us was unacceptable - by Arizona law.
“That carve-out is the tell. A resident can keep a firearm at home and walk it to the car, but the moment she steps onto a shared sidewalk or crosses the parking lot, the association says she is out of bounds.
One resident pushed back on exactly that. She said she understands keeping firearms away from the pool, but not being disarmed on the sidewalk or at the mailboxes. If she is out walking at night and someone tries to rob her, she asked, “if I get mugged, are they now financially responsible?” because the rule told her she could not protect herself.
She also questioned whether the HOA has the authority to do this at all, noting that she owns her home rather than rents it.
Here is where the law actually lands. South Carolina has been a constitutional carry state since March 2024, when H.3594 took effect, and adults who are not otherwise prohibited can carry openly or concealed without a permit. But that same framework lets private property owners and employers say no on their own premises.
Attorney Brad Richardson told WMBF that an association can place restrictions like these as long as it follows the law, and that people who buy into an HOA agree to live under its rules. He drew one firm line, saying he would object if a board tried to bar firearms “anywhere on the property, including your own dwelling.” His advice for residents who disagree was the ballot, not the courthouse: vote in a new board.
The catch in South Carolina is how a private ban becomes real. Under state law, a property owner has to post a “NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED” sign meeting specific size and placement requirements before carrying is treated as prohibited on the premises. Right now, by WMBF’s reporting, no such signs are posted anywhere around the community’s shared spaces.”
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