Florida's Tradition HOA just banned guns from its parks, trails, and splash pads – and the police told them where to put it.
Now residents are learning what happened behind their backs.
Here's what the HOA didn't expect when it stripped law-abiding permit holders of their right to self-defense.
The Ban Nobody Voted For
The Tradition Community Association in Port St. Lucie banned firearms from all common areas – the Town Hall, Tradition Square, the gazebo, splash pad, tot lot, dog park, parks, trails, and stormwater areas throughout the development.
Concealed carry permit holders are barred from those spaces even for self-defense.
Resident Taylor Welsh says nobody saw it coming.
"As gun owners ourselves we just felt like it was very subversive to do something like this behind everyone's backs," Welsh said, "because it seems like no one had prior notice."
https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2056406920949317668?s=20
She added that she'd feel safer with her firearm on the walking trails.
"While this is a safe community, we have seen an uptick in incidents around here where I would personally just feel better if I was allowed to still carry around the parks, the walking trails."
She's not wrong to want that option.
The Police Made It Simple
Port St. Lucie Police Department didn't agonize over this one.
Their statement was direct: "The Port St. Lucie Police Department enforces Florida State Law – not private HOA policies or community association rules. PSLPD fully supports the constitutional rights afforded to all law-abiding citizens, including the rights protected under the Second Amendment. Responsible firearm ownership remains a protected right under both the United States Constitution and Florida law, and our officers will continue to uphold and protect those rights while enforcing the law fairly and impartially."
Full stop.
That's what a police department that actually respects its residents sounds like.
Port St. Lucie councilman Anthony Bonna, a Republican, has made clear he plans to fight the ban.
He's right to.
Florida Law Already Settled This Question
Florida Statute 790.33 explicitly preempts any local regulation of firearms more restrictive than state law.
The HOA isn't a government body, which is exactly where the legal question gets interesting – the statute was written for governments, not private community associations.
But the principle is the same: you don't get to strip a law-abiding permit holder of constitutional rights because you control the gazebo.
When Democrats can't get gun control through state legislatures – and in Florida, they can't – they go local.
They go to city councils, county commissions, and now HOA boards.
They quietly push through restrictions on gun owners who already passed background checks, already got their permits, already follow every rule.
The good news is Florida's preemption law has real teeth.
Elected officials and government entities that violate it face personal fines of up to $5,000 and removal from office.
The question now is whether HOA boards operating in legally gray territory will face the same pressure – and whether Bonna and other elected officials in Port St. Lucie will make sure they do.
Taylor Welsh and her neighbors deserve an answer.
Sources:
- AWR Hawkins, "Police Will Not Enforce Florida HOA's Neighborhood Gun Ban," Breitbart, May 18, 2026.
- Florida Statute 790.33, "Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition preempted," Florida Legislature.
