Sportsmen are once again taking aim at one of New Jersey' s last remaining blue laws: a ban against hunting on Sundays.
The state Legislature is scheduled to discuss a bill Monday that would remove the ban on Sunday hunting that has been in effect since 1903. The proposed bill, S-2013, would allow sportsmen to take " any game animal on any day of the week, including Sundays" - the only restriction being that the animal be taken only during hunting season as set by the state Fish and Game Council.
A similar measure introduced in 2000 never made it to the floor. It was killed by pressure from animal rights activists opposed to all hunting and others who feared someone might get hit with a stray arrow or shotgun blast.
The new bill is sponsored by state Sens. Peter A. Inverso, R-Mercer, and Joseph A. Palaia, R-Monmouth. " I love to hunt, but I work six days a week," said Frank Dara, chairman of the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen' s Clubs. " If I could go hunting on a Sunday, I would love it."
The Sierra Club, which holds more than 200 hikes a year, many of them on Sunday, said the weekend should remain split.
" I think it' s an issue of fairness," said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club. " It would be nice if there was one day a week when people could walk through the woods and not have to worry."
The ban on Sunday hunting dates to the days when much of the state was rural and people regularly worked six days a week. Sunday was seen as a day of rest.
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If its not about hunting, I don' t want to talk about it,,,,
NJ Sunday Hunting Update
