Key Takeaways
- The Forest Pines HOA in South Carolina banned firearms in shared spaces, raising concerns among residents about their self-defense rights.
- Residents question the legality and authority of the HOA to impose such a ban, especially since South Carolina permits constitutional carry.
- Under state law, HOA restrictions on firearms require specific signage to be legally enforceable, which the HOA has not provided.
- Attorney Brad Richardson advises residents to push for changes in the board rather than pursue legal action.
- Residents should not assume the HOA’s email notice has legal weight without proper signage and should be aware of their rights.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
HORRY COUNTY, SC — A homeowners association on the Grand Strand has told residents they can no longer carry a firearm across most of their own community’s shared property, and gun owners there are right to be asking whether the rule actually holds up.
As reported by WMBF News, residents of Forest Pines Condominiums received an email informing them that firearms are no longer allowed in the community’s shared spaces.
The rule comes from CAMS Management, and it reaches well past the pool. It bars both carried and concealed firearms at the pool, clubhouse, mail kiosks, sidewalks, and parking areas. Firearms are still permitted inside residents’ homes and while traveling to and from their vehicles.
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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So the association has announced a ban by email while skipping the one step that gives a ban legal weight in this state. A line in a management notice is not the same thing as lawful, enforceable notice, and residents are entitled to ask about the difference.
I have seen this play out before. Last month I covered a Port St. Lucie HOA that tried to ban firearms across its common areas, and Florida’s attorney general gave the board a deadline to back off or face enforcement. The statutes differ from state to state, but the pattern repeats. An association votes itself a gun-free neighborhood, mails a letter, and assumes residents will treat that letter like a law.
CAMS Management did not respond to WMBF’s request for comment.
If you live under an HOA and a notice like this lands in your inbox, do not assume it binds you the way a statute would. Know your state’s actual law, look for the signage that law requires, and remember that a board you can vote out is not a legislature. I will keep tracking how this one resolves, including whether the association posts compliant signage or the state takes an interest.
