77 year-old Marine Art Dorsch lives at Oakwood Apartments in Castle Rock, Colorado. He was among other tenants that were told by the apartment complex that they would have to get rid of their guns or leave the apartment.
They received a letter from the manager of the complex informing them of the new rules which banned all “firearms and weapons” on the premises.
The Washington Times reports:
Art Dorsch, 77, a Marine Corps veteran and avid hunter with a concealed carry permit, said he lives on a fixed income and can’t afford to move. But he said managers gave him three options: willingly remove the guns and stay, keep the guns and move, or keep the guns and wait to be forced to leave.
“It upsets me very much,” he told the station. “They want to take them all away from me. They say I can’t live here.”
One legal analyst said courts tend to fall on the side of favoring landlords’ rights to impose “reasonable regulations” on renters. But the question is, he said, “Is an outright ban of firearms reasonable in light of the U.S. Constitution?”
Dorsch did not have any type of gun language in his lease, which he signed earlier this year.
Colorado state senator Greg Brophy (R-Dist. 1) told Breitbart that the news of the policy struck him as “flatly unconstitutional.”
“It is utterly foolish to go out and practically advertise that ‘no one living in this building can protect him or herself,'” he added.
He said that such a policy would turn the apartments into another “‘gun free zone’ for criminally minded people to rob or attack at will.”
This story doesn’t end with bad news.
Though the residents had until October 1, 2013 to comply, the Douglas County Housing Partnership, a multi-jurisdictional housing authority, held a meeting late on Wednesday and threw out the policy.
9News reports:
Board members decided that the policy, which would have prohibited residents from having firearms in their homes, will not go into effect.
The Douglas County Housing partnership owns Oakwood Apartments in Castle Rock. It was purchased with federal funds and is supported by local, state, and federal tax dollars.
“These community policy changes were distributed without the knowledge or authorization of the Board of Directors of the Douglas County Housing Partnership or its staff,” a Douglas County Housing Partnership release said. “This board does not support any action that infringes on an individual’s rights and will not allow Ross Management to implement these changes. The mission of the Douglas County Housing partnership is to preserve and develop safe, secure, quality housing while providing housing choices for those who have few.”
The decision seems common sense, and the law prevailed in this instance. That’s good to hear. Keep in mind that this is Colorado, where a liberal legislature and governor, against the U.S. Constitution, the will of the people and against the sheriffs of Colorado enacted sweeping gun control measures that are currently being challenged. I’d say the DCHP simply demonstrates what the people of Colorado actually believe about guns and gun ownership. Kudos to them for acting appropriately.
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