Sunday Hunting Legislative Efforts
Now that Castle Doctrine has been signed into law, many gun owners and hunters are taking a closer look at another issue that has been up for debate for years now – opening hunting on Sundays in Pennsylvania. Many states, including Pennsylvania, have repealed nearly all of these blue laws that were originally enacted in order to regulate personal religious or moral behavior. Only a small minority maintain their blue laws against hunting.
Advocates of Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania recently released a report on the predicted economic impact of allowing hunting throughout the entire weekend. Now, the legislature is finally moving forward on the proposal. Representative John Evans introduced HB 1760 that was referred to the chamber’s Game and Fisheries Committee this week.
Representative Marc Gergely also released a statement about hist work on this week’s resolution from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to support Sunday hunting:
“I thank the Game Commission for passing this resolution that I requested,” Gergely said. “Sunday hunting would double the number of days many hunters will have to enjoy their sport, create thousands of jobs and attract young people to hunting and conservation.”
A recent legislative hearing on the issue of Sunday hunting had a high turnout, as seen by these photos posted by Rep. Evans. In addition, he recently conducted an interview on the recent meetings and the broader Sunday hunting topics that you can listen to here. He addresses some of the groups opposed to the legislation, as well as the upcoming plans for the House Game & Fisheries Committee in tackling the legislation.
NRA News recently conducted an interview with Rep. Evans on his effort to recruit more co-sponsors on his Sunday hunting bill. Specifically, host Cam Edwards gets to the root of why sportsmen in Pennsylvania want to see this change.
As of the end of June, here are the representatives who have stepped up to support your right to hunt alongside Rep. Evans:
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- Rep. Edward Staback
- Rep. Marc Gergely
- Rep. Tom Caltagirone
- Rep. Mark Cohen
- Rep. Peter Daley
- Rep. Tony DeLuca
- Rep. Eli Evankovich
- Rep. Garth Everett
- Rep. Florindo Fabrizio
- Rep. Neal Goodman
- Rep. John Hornaman
- Rep. Tom Killion
- Rep. Daryl Metcalfe
- Rep. Jerry Mullery
- Rep. Tom Murt
- Rep. Mike Vereb
- Rep. Randy Vulakovich
- Rep. Jake Wheatley
- Rep. Bill Kortz
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As the Game & Fisheries Committee continues to hold hearings on the topic, NRA is asking its members to contact their lawmakers to request their support of the bill.
