Weapons prohibitions at Travis County Parks

[TerranAce007]

Below is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the TSRA regarding a bad experience I had with a Travis County Park Ranger while camping this weekend at Pace Bend. I've only been there a few times, but seem to get hasseled by this guy for something everytime. He's even yelled at me for parking on the grass at a campsite. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

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TSRA,

I am a CHL holder and was camping with some friends at Pace Bend Park this weekend and had a concerning interaction with a Park Ranger there. He pulled us over to warn us about our speed on the park road and when he asked for my driver's license, I handed him my CHL as well.

He took it and asked if I had a handgun in my car and I said yes. Then he asked me if I saw the sign at the front gate and told me that weapons are not allowed in LCRA parks. Later upon our exit, we didn't see any signs related to firearms.

After running my license, he came back to my window with an attitude and said that "some people think they can come out here and do whatever they want." He cautioned about driving too fast on the park roads because we might hit an animal, then went back to lecturing me about firearms and said that "some people think they can come out here and shoot at beer cans or animals."

I told him I have my CHL and my handgun for protection and wasn't there to cause any trouble, so he told me "just make sure it doesn't leave the vehicle." At that point, my friend told him he didn't see any 30.06 signs and the officer and his backup that had arrived argued with my friend for a few minutes. Eventually they told use they generally don't bother people about guns unless they're doing something wrong and let us go.

I've researched Pace Bend Park and it looks like it falls under Travis County jurisdiction, while the river is managed by LCRA. The LCRA website specifically allows CHLs in their regulations, but the Travis County Parks website says this:

"Weapons, Firearms, and Fireworks - No person shall possess or discharge weapons, firearms, or fireworks in any county park."
https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/about/rules-safety" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My concern is that the Travis Country Park Rangers are either misinformed about state firearms laws, or they are intentionally harassing gun owners. The officer I dealt with was Joseph Delahoussaye (emp# 3196). I would appreciate any guidance you can provide on this situation.

Thanks,

[GlockDude26]

seems silly to begin with since the only authorities you are required to show your CHL to is LEO's. NOT PARK RANGERS

[KC5AV]

As far as I can tell, Pace Bend isn't under the control of the Army Corp of Engineers, so you should be good to go.
Here is an older thread dealing with the same question. I'd ignore the blowhard. I also wouldn't show him my CHL if he isn't actually law enforcement.

[oohrah]

Park Rangers can be LEOs if they are commissioned by their agency as peace officers.

[KC5AV]

Which is why I said 'if'.

[MotherBear]

Obviously they're misinformed about firearms, but it might be worth being aware that it's generally against the rules to park on the grass at camp sites. Usually there's a paved area for parking, and most parks where I've camped have been strict about parking in appropriate areas. Being aware of and following regulations (including speed limits) will often help you avoid being hassled.

[gthaustex]

For what its worth, Park Rangers in Travis County are commissioned LEOs according to their website. They also have a generic statement about no weapons, firearms or fireworks in the parks. Nothing 30.06 that I can see on their website, not that it would matter as a gov't entity.

That said, it is Travis County where they chased the gun show out of town not too long ago....

[cb1000rider]

Not great.
Pace Bend is going to be an interesting place to patrol. Some of the parks on the other side of the lake, especially up north (more rural) tend to attract lots of people that are up to no good. You must have triggered that instinct.. I don't like it when people get treated like that..

It's gonna be hard not to park on the grass in that park.

It sounds like basic minor intimidation. He re-iterated the park rules (as posted) to you, but didn't actually ask you to leave. That leads me to suspect that he understands the law, but doesn't like it.

[TerranAce007]

When he pulled me over he was in a patrol SUV with flashing lights and he ran my driver's license and gave me a written warning, so he would have seen the CHL anyway.

I've seen this guy and his attitude before. He watches and waits for the smallest infractions and then confronts you with an attitude about his park and his rules and the people that "think they can do whatever they want." I know the "no weapons" policy is un-enforecable, but my concern was this idiot park ranger guy with a badge and a gun running around the park harrasing people for something that's not illegal. He has been very unprofessional to a female friend of mine before. I wish I would have gotten it on video. The purpose of my post is to bring some awareness to the issue and hopefully get the TSRA to take notice of Travis County law enforecement policies...

[Hindenburg]

Not great.
Pace Bend is going to be an interesting place to patrol. Some of the parks on the other side of the lake, especially up north (more rural) tend to attract lots of people that are up to no good. You must have triggered that instinct.. I don't like it when people get treated like that..

It's gonna be hard not to park on the grass in that park.

It sounds like basic minor intimidation. He re-iterated the park rules (as posted) to you, but didn't actually ask you to leave. That leads me to suspect that he understands the law, but doesn't like it.

It also sounds like it would have gone more smoothly if the passenger didn't argue with the LEO and his backup.

[TerranAce007]

I wouldn't really call it an argument. He told us weapons were not allowed and we corrected him saying yes they are under state CHL law and then he got angry. If I had done something wrong, I wouldn't have said anything but I think was he more angry that we didn't follow "his rules in his park" and weren't intimidated by his authority. We were respectful, even though I wanted to say more to him. His backup just stood there and didn't say much and was the one that actually diffused the situation by telling us they wouldn't bother us about guns unless they saw us doing something dangerous.