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Friday, November 22, 2019

Question of the week: Should hunting be allowed on Sundays?


Nov 19, 2019

Lauren Shaulis

Berlin

Sunday, the most sacred day of the week, the Sabbath, the day of rest, should not be mistreated as “just another day.” A day God proclaimed as holy should not be disrespected or ignored. Hunting, a sport many of my family members participate in, should not consume every hour of every day.

Sundays can be the day when an avid hunter spends time with his or her family — a day free of stress. Six days of hunting, consecutively, provides plenty of opportunity for the sport; I feel another day would be just unnecessary.

That beloved 24-hour time period allows the deer and worried mothers with sons hunting for the first time a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. Sundays are the perfect depiction of “everything in moderation” and “too much of a good thing.”

Sundays can equip the average citizen with a regulated pause from the pursuit of the sport without ceasing it completely. Some traditions hold truths far more complex and necessary than most could ever realize.

Peyton Betcher

Windber

As soon as the leaves begin to fall off the trees, millions of American hunters begin to gather their weapons and camouflage gear in preparation for daily hunting over the next few months. However, www.congressionalsportsmen.org confirms that in certain states, including Pennsylvania, hunting has never been permitted on Sundays.

More specifically, only 11 states to this day continue to follow strict Sunday restrictions. Originally, the Puritans designed the law as a part of the Blue Laws in order to encourage church attendance.

When these restrictions were first set, several other activities were also illegal on Sundays, including drinking alcohol and working in any capacity.


Obviously, since such restrictions were made, laws have drastically changed; therefore, the Sunday hunting law should change as well.

Hunting is viewed by several families as a time to bond and spend quality time together; however, with children in school and parents working five days a week, time together is limited.

Since Sundays are not legal for hunting, one day during the week is available for families to hunt together.

Additionally, the purpose of hunting is to maintain control of the animal population, and the deer population is excessive in Pennsylvania. In 2016 alone, there were more than 4,000 deer related crashes that occurred in Pennsylvania according to www.observer-report.com.

The more days that hunting is available, the more controlled the deer population will be.

Removal of the Sunday hunting restriction will allow more time for families to bond, provide professionals valuable hunting time, and protect the safety of Pennsylvania citizens; therefore, the Sunday hunting restriction should be revisited and deeply considered.

Alexa Shaulis

Somerset

On private land, hunting should be allowed on Sundays. Hunting is a big part of Somerset County, so any day out in the fields looking for deer is a welcomed one. However, Sundays are considered a day of rest and that means hunting shouldn’t be allowed.

If a new law were to allow hunting on Sundays, it should have hunting be closed on public lands, but not on private lands.

Giving public lands the ability to ban hunting on Sundays would allow park-goers to enjoy their time without having to worry about hunters, and it would allow those who own private land the ability to get extra days of hunting in for the season.

Kyle Davis

Meyersdale

Under normal circumstances, I do not believe hunting should be allowed on Sundays. However, the exception to that is in the event that the deer (or other animal) population has reached a point that the Game Commission deems it a viable solution to control the population.

The “morality” argument against hunting on Sundays can be described through the religious significance that Sundays serve as a Sabbath in most religious practices throughout Pennsylvania. These beliefs were recognized by Pennsylvania lawmakers through the Blue Laws in the 1870’s and have remained a part of our hunting culture ever since.

However, we do live in changing times. There are more practical arguments against hunting on Sundays. These include reasons such as taxpayers paying for a game commissioner to work on Sundays as well as depleting the deer population.

While I am less concerned about the moral or religious dilemma of the issue, I am concerned about what effects new laws could have on Pennsylvania wildlife. I believe that our animals and nature should be prioritized in this situation, and organizations such as the Game Commission always should be consulted.

Madi Walker

North Star

I don’t see an issue with hunting on Sundays.

Hunting is a fun pastime for many people in our area so having the ability to hunt on a Sunday might be nice for anyone who wants to. I do understand, however, that many people would not hunt on Sundays for religious purposes.

With this in mind, I feel like it should be up to the individual to determine if they want to hunt on a Sunday. If you don’t want to hunt on that day, then you shouldn’t have to.

Sable Leone

Salisbury-Elk Lick

I honestly don’t have an opinion if hunting should be allowed on Sundays or not. If people want to go out on a cold Sunday morning then that is their choice. If there is a specific reason it should not be allowed, I would be interested to hear it.

Hunting is a hobby. I shouldn’t really have a say to when people should get to enjoy themselves while doing one of their hobbies. If they want to go out on their free time on a Sunday then I support that.

Hannah Platt

Shanksville-Stonycreek

Coming from a family that hunts, I feel there are pros and cons to allowing hunting on Sundays. The first benefit to hunting on Sundays is the fact that it gives people that work five days a week another day to hunt.

Hunting is an enjoyable sport that can be done with the entire family. Some of the greatest memories people have would be hunting in the outdoors with their families. Also, hunting on Sundays will promote more economy to the state of Pennsylvania because hunting is one of the largest economic producers in the state.

The downfalls of hunting on Sundays is the fact that Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Sunday is the Sabbath day which means the hunter should be in church.

Sunday is also a day when a lot of people like to do outdoor activities such as: biking, hiking, four-wheeler riding, bird watching, etc. So, in my opinion, the best compromise for Sunday hunting in the state of Pennsylvania would be to only legalize it on state game lands which is purposely set aside for hunting alone.

Only legalizing hunting on state game lands still allows people to hunt if they want to, do other outdoor recreation as they want to, rest, or go to church. In my opinion, if hunting is legalized only on state game lands, then hunting should be allowed on Sundays.

Emma Ream

Rockwood

People in Somerset County are excited this time of year — not only because Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up, but also because the time has come to put on orange vests, sit in the freezing cold for hours on end while hoping for an unsuspecting deer to walk by a hunting stand.

Those who don’t hunt are restricted on what they can do during deer season which takes place this year from Nov. 30 to Dec. 14, excluding Sundays. During this time, people are trying to get in the last good days of outdoor recreation before the bitter cold and snowy days really kick in.

There shouldn’t be hunting on Sundays. Not only is it a church day and day of rest, it is also a day when most jobs have shorter hours and people spend time with their family. However, it is unsafe to safely go into the woods to hike and sightsee when hunters are in the same area.

Additionally, if hunting on Sundays is allowed, game wardens, natural resource officers, butcher shops, and taxidermists would have to work on Sundays then too.

And, while they are getting paid, that does not mean they want to spend their entire weekend doing their job if they would much rather be sitting at home watching the Steelers game or spending time with their family.

Although I come from a family of hunters, I understand that there are people that have better things to do than wait for someone to shoot a deer.





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