Posted on 04/21/2025 10:32:06 AM PDT by george76
Florida is a state known for sunny beaches and red state politics. I've actually heard a state lawmaker describe it as the freest state in the nation. Of course, this was at a Second Amendment gathering where people know how restrictive the state can be on guns. They're not anti-gun, but not the most pro-gun, either.
But they're good enough that people can defend themselves if need be. However, that doesn't mean someone won't make you move.
It seems a Florida woman defended herself from a home invader. She shot the intruder and killed him. But rather than just be thrilled the tenants of the apartment are safe and sound, they're getting some very different treatment.
According to an outraged parent, a Fort Myers apartment complex is kicking out tenants because one of them shot a man trying to get inside their room.
“It adds insult to injury, it’s completely outrageous and I just don’t know what kind of person or organization makes that kind of decision,” said Stuart Lurie.
Lurie said his daughter lives at the Carlton of Fort Myers, in the room where a man with a gun tried to get in, before being shot and killed by one of her roommates.
Now, it seems the would-be home invader lived in the apartment complex and had an apartment number similar to theirs, so he may not have actually meant any harm.
Then again, no one inside the apartment had any way of knowing this at the time. Instead, they reacted as any reasonable person would and defended themselves.
...
But rather than just having to deal with the trauma from that ordeal, the tenants like Lurie's daughter are having to find a new place to move because they had a gun.
Lurie sent Fox 4 a copy of the seven-day notice, which says they have to leave because of prohibited conduct, which includes the following:
“You, your occupants or guests, or the guests of any occupants, may not engage in the following activities: ...engaging in or threatening violence; possessing a weapon prohibited by state law; discharging a firearm in the apartment community; displaying or possessing a gun, knife, or other weapon in the common area in a way that may alarm others; engaging in criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of others in or near the apartment community (regardless of arrest or conviction);.. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a material breach of this Lease and will entitle us to exercise all rights and remedies under the lease and law.”
So they exercised a constitutionally protected right, and now they're getting the boot?
I'm not one who tramples on property rights, so if the ownership doesn't want guns on its property, that's certainly something they can do just as they could say you can't hold worship meetings in your apartment or display political messages in the windows.
But I'll just say that everyone who lives there should consider moving right away.
Denying people the right to keep and bear arms, then evicting them when they defend themselves, is a terrible look at best. Stuff like this is why landlords get hit with laws about what they can and can't do in the first place, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Florida ban this kind of language for lease agreements.
I'm not ready to go that far. I'd much rather hurt the owners in the wallet by seeing literally everyone move away.
However, I'll also note that with this now in the public, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more home invasions in this apartment complex. After all, if it's all a massive gun-free zone, what do they have to lose?
Buy a billboard as near there as possible:
HEY, VIOLENT CRIMINALS!!!!
THERE ARE NO GUNS AT CARLTON APARTMENTS!!!!
HAVE FUN, YA’LL!!!!...................
Surprised this isn’t illegal in FL...
> Surprised this isn’t illegal in FL... <
It’s a conflict between 2A/self-defense rights and property rights. Property rights prevailed, as it probably should have.
I agree with you on this one.
It’s worth noting that the Bill of Rights only protects you against government overreach. It does not protect you against overreach by a private party.
The apartment complex made a foolish decision. Not much different than those worthless “gun-free zone” signs. But the 2A doesn’t apply here.
Why? It is their property. If you don’t like it. Stay your ass the way from there. It is what I do.
Leases do not have supremacy over state law.
Since the tenant had the right to do this under the castle doctrine (which pertains to any residence) and stand your ground laws, the landlord has no authority to restrict that with a lease.
If I were the tenant, I would not leave willingly and have the landlord file the eviction petition in court and appear at that hearing with the above defense.
p.s., I forgot to say, the provision in the lease restricting the discharge of a firearm pertains not to self defense but to discharge in general, i.e., you can’t shoot cans in the parking lot or what not.
Details?
One said “attempted to enter.
A other said “entered”.
By door or by window?
I remember of reading about similar signs going up in 1968 in the anti-gun hysteria after Bobby Kennedy was murdered by a Palestinian Immigrant.
“THIS HOUSE IS NOT ARMED!”
It did not last long. Others preferred the “SOUL BROTHER!” signs from 1967.
The joke is on Carlton Apartments... Nobody in their right mind obviously obeys their “no gun” policy just because they know it is a death sentence to do so.
Note to self... if there is any chance I get so drunk as to not know where my apartment is, make sure I have marked it with some decor that can’t be easily moved so I enter the wrong apartments of the cute girls across the hall.
P.S. I don’t drink.
More than property rights, I’d say contract law is at issue.
FLORIDA NOT a ‘stand your ground’ place???
“The joke is on Carlton Apartments... Nobody in their right mind obviously obeys their “no gun” policy just because they know it is a death sentence to do so.”
I pretty much carry everywhere.
I walk past signs regularly that say “no guns allowed” or such.
If they’re gonna stop me they better put me through a metal detector.
Florida is SYG state and has a castle doctrine.
This apartment complex is out of their ever loving minds, and a good lawyer should be able to put it right.
Some rights are more inalienable than others? Even in Florida?
Evicted for defending your life is not a property rights issue. It is a basic life issue.
It's not a property rights issue. The landlord opened a commercial business and their rights differ from an owner-occupied residence.
If the landlord doesn't want to run a business that recognizes the U.S. Constitution, remove their business license and have them source their own police, fire, EMT protection, sewage, water lines, electrical lines, street access, etc. Then they can do whatever they want.
> If the landlord doesn’t want to run a business that recognizes the U.S. Constitution… <
The Constitution’s Bill of Rights regulates the relationship between the government and the citizens. It does not regulate the relationship between citizens.
For example, the 1A protects freedom of speech in a public forum. But it does not protect freedom of speech in a private place. You are not protected if, say, you walk into a Ford dealership and yell out “Fords are junk.” Out you will go, legally and pretty darn fast.
Don’t get me wrong. Everyone had the right to self-defense, and even more so in their own domicile. So I’m really torn here. Someone else posted here that this is at heart a contract issue.
I think that’s correct. If the lease says no guns, then it’s no guns. If you don’t like that (and you shouldn’t), don’t sign that lease. Look elsewhere.
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