A South Carolina condominium association is facing questions after banning firearms from common areas including sidewalks, parking lots, mail kiosks, the pool, and clubhouse, while still allowing residents to keep guns inside their homes and carry them to and from their vehicles.
Gun-rights commentator Colion Noir examined the dispute in a recent video, arguing that the Forest Pines Condominiums rule may leave residents unarmed in the exact places where they are most likely to be alone, distracted, or walking at night.
The new policy was reported in a WMBF News segment by Katherine Schreiner, who said residents received an email informing them that carried and concealed firearms were not allowed in shared spaces on the Horry County property.
The rule, issued by CAMS Management, does not ban firearms from residents’ homes. It also allows them to carry guns while going to or from their vehicles. But Noir focused on what sits in the middle of those two places: the sidewalk, the parking lot, the mailbox, and the paths residents use every day.
The “In-Between” Areas Become Off Limits
According to the WMBF report featured in Noir’s video, the Forest Pines policy covers the pool, clubhouse, mail kiosks, sidewalks, and parking areas.
For Noir, that list was the heart of the issue.
He said the danger people worry about is rarely inside their own living room. Instead, he argued, it is often found in the transition zones between home and car, such as a dark parking lot, a quiet sidewalk, or a walk back from the mailbox after sunset.
“Guns fine at home, fine to and from the car,” Noir said. “But the strip of sidewalk and the parking lot in between … that’s the dead zone.”
The argument is clearly shaped by Noir’s Second Amendment views, but the concern itself is easy to understand. Residents may not think much about a shared sidewalk during the day, yet those areas can feel very different late at night, especially for people walking alone.
The policy does not appear to stop residents from owning firearms. Instead, it limits where those firearms can be carried within the community. That distinction matters legally and practically, because it turns shared property into a separate category from a person’s home or vehicle.
Resident Questions Who Takes Responsibility
One Forest Pines resident interviewed in the report said she understood why an HOA might restrict firearms around a pool or other shared gathering space. Her concern was with the rule’s effect on mail kiosks, sidewalks, and parking areas.
“What if I go out at night and I’m like walking, so if I get mugged, are they now financially responsible because I was not permitted to protect myself in the middle of the street?” she asked.
Noir returned to that question several times, saying the answer was likely no. In his view, the HOA receives the comfort of creating a rule on paper, while residents carry the personal risk if something happens in one of the areas where the rule applies.
That is the part of the argument likely to resonate with many gun owners. A property manager can create restrictions, but it cannot guarantee that an assault, robbery, or other emergency will not happen in a parking lot.
At the same time, supporters of restrictions may see common areas differently. Pools, clubhouses, and crowded shared spaces can involve families, children, visitors, and disagreements between neighbors, which may be why boards want tighter rules in the first place.
The conflict is not as simple as one side wanting safety and the other side opposing it. Both sides are talking about safety, but they are measuring the risk in different places.
Condo Ownership Makes The Debate More Complicated
The resident also questioned whether the HOA should be able to make the rule at all, noting that she owns her home rather than renting an apartment.
“We’re not in an apartment building where you have a lobby that you have to walk through,” she said in the WMBF report. “No, it’s my house. I don’t rent it; I own it.”
Noir leaned heavily on that distinction. He argued that shared sidewalks and parking areas are part of the property arrangement residents bought into, making the situation different from a shopping mall or restaurant telling customers not to carry guns inside.
That point is one of the more interesting parts of the dispute because condominium living often creates a blurred line between private ownership and shared control. Residents may own their unit, but the association often manages roads, walkways, parking areas, landscaping, recreation spaces, and other common property.
Attorney Brad Richardson, speaking in Katherine Schreiner’s report, said private property owners and businesses can restrict carried and concealed firearms as long as they follow the law.
“If you choose to live in an HOA, you’re gonna have to live within their rules and regulations,” Richardson said.
He added that he would draw the line if an HOA tried to ban firearms everywhere on the property, including inside a resident’s own dwelling.
The Signage Question Raises Another Issue
Noir also highlighted a major detail from the WMBF report: no visible signs had been posted around the shared spaces where the HOA said firearms were prohibited.
Under South Carolina Law Enforcement Division guidelines cited in the report, business owners must post “no concealed weapons allowed” signs for carrying to be considered banned on the premises.
Richardson said the HOA could impose restrictions if it followed the law. But Noir argued that without signs, the association’s policy may not carry the criminal enforcement power some residents might assume it has.
“They wrote the rule, emailed the rule, defended the rule on TV, and never posted the sign,” Noir said.
That does not necessarily mean the HOA rule has no consequences. Noir noted that residents could still face civil fines or other internal penalties depending on the association’s bylaws and covenants.
Still, the question of signage shows how these cases can become more complicated than a simple email. There may be a difference between an HOA policy, a civil enforcement action, and an alleged criminal trespass violation.
For residents, that is why reading the governing documents matters. The exact language of a rule, the association’s authority under its covenants, and the state’s firearm laws can all affect what an HOA may be able to enforce.
Property Rights And Gun Rights Collide
Noir said he generally supports private property rights, including the right of owners to restrict firearms on property they control. But he argued that the Forest Pines case feels different because some residents may have bought homes before the new rule was announced.
He questioned the idea that residents simply “chose” the policy by choosing to live in the community.
“A private owner can restrict carry,” Noir said. “But ‘you chose to live here’ assumes the rule was on the table when you bought in.”
That is a fair concern in any HOA dispute, not just one involving firearms. Rules can change after people move in, and residents may feel they are being governed by a different set of expectations than the ones they believed they accepted.
Richardson, however, told WMBF that HOA boards can restrict many rights in shared spaces and that residents who disagree with the board can try to elect new leadership.
That may be the standard answer, but it is not always a fast answer. Board elections can take time, and residents who feel uneasy walking through a parking lot at night may not believe they can simply wait for a future vote to settle the matter.
A Policy Debate With Real Consequences
The Forest Pines controversy is still a local dispute, and the HOA did not respond to a request for comment in the report featured by Noir.
But the discussion has become larger than one condo complex in Horry County. It touches on a broader question that often follows HOA rules: how much control should a private association have over the day-to-day choices residents make outside their own front doors?
For Noir, the answer is clear. He believes residents should be especially cautious when an HOA restricts firearms in areas where they may feel most exposed, such as sidewalks, mail kiosks, and parking lots.
His advice was for gun owners to read their bylaws, understand their covenants, and look closely at what a board can and cannot regulate.
Whether people agree with Noir’s broader Second Amendment message or not, the dispute shows why HOA rules deserve close attention. A short email can shape how residents move through the places they use every day, and the real argument may not begin until someone asks what happens when a policy meant to create safety makes another person feel less safe.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
