Colorado Apartment Building Tells Tenants They Have to Get Rid of Their Guns -- or Leave

An apartment complex in Colorado has news for tenants: get rid of your guns, or get out.

Art Dorsch said he'll either have to give up his guns or move out of his apartment. (Image source: KUSA-TV)

The Oakwood Apartments in Castle Rock, Colo. sent notice to residents last week of a new provision banning all "firearms and weapons" from the premises, KUSA-TV reported. Tenants have until Oct. 1 to comply.

Art Dorsch, a 77-year-old retired Marine Corps veteran, told KUSA he's afraid he'll lose his home if he doesn't go along with the new rule. He's a hunter and has a concealed carry permit.

Dorsch, who's living on a fixed income, said managers told him he has three options: get rid of his guns and stay, keep his guns and move out voluntarily, or keep his guns and be forced out.

"It upsets me very much," Dorsch told the station.

He said he keeps his guns secured in a safe and that having them makes him feel secure in his home.

"They want to take them all away from me, they say I can't live here," he said.

The Oakwood Apartments in Colorado sent notice to residents last week. (Image source: KUSA-TV)

KUSA legal analyst Scott Robinson said courts have generally supported landlords' rights to impose "reasonable regulations" on their tenants.

"The question is: is an outright ban of firearms reasonable in light of the U.S. Constitution?" Robinson told KUSA.

The Ross Management Group, which manages the Oakwood Apartments, declined to comment to KUSA. Castle Rock is just south of Denver.

As the debate over gun control raged through the country, Colorado this year passed controversial new legislation limiting ammunition magazines and imposing universal background checks on all gun buyers.

July 20 marked the one-year anniversary since a shooter massacred 12 people and injured 70 at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

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