A South Carolina Home Owners Association has sent an email to residents declaring:
Firearms--whether openly carried or concealed--are not permitted in an Forest Pines Common area, including:
a. Pool and pool deck
b. Clubhouse and restrooms
c. Mail kiosk
d. Parking areas
e. Sidewalks, landscaped grounds, and all HOA-maintained outdoor spaces.
The email was shown on WMBT television. 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 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 which are required to be posted in order to prohibit the carrying of concealable weapons, whether openly or concealed. In order to be enforceable by law, the signs must meet particular criteria. For buildings, signs must be posted at all entrances. If there is a door, the signs need to be eight inches by twelve inches tall. The letters on the sign need to be in black one inch tall letters. The sign needs to include a seven inch diameter circle with the black silhouette of a handgun and a diagonal line which runs from the upper left to the lower right of the circle. When a door does not exist, the sign has to be 36 inches wide by 48 inches tall.
From news coverage of the condominiums in question, and from using Googlemaps, there do not appear to be any official firearms ban signs at Forest Pine Condominiums. A resident reported there were no such signs anywhere in the Forest Pine properties.
Forest Pines Condominiums appears to be a fairly new development. The condominiums were built
about three years ago. A Google maps satellite view does not show the buildings. Using Googlemaps street view, Forest Pines is easily seen to the left when taking McCormick Rd from State Rd 26-992. It appears to be a cluster of two-three story buildings with about three to six two-three story units per building. One unit was listed as slightly less than 1,900 square feet. The size of the units are within a few square feet of each other. Because of the lack of signs, it appears the sanctions of fines or limiting access to common areas for violation of the firearms policy could only be applied to members of the HOA.
A Florida HOA was recently warned by Florida Attorney General Uthmeier HOA policies banning firearms from common areas were a violation of Florida law. The Florida HOA announced the policy in May of 2026. Florida law is not the same as South Carolina law. The South Carolina AG does not appear to have issued a statement on the Horry County HOA firearms ban as of this writing.
©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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