BDC

I am sure the lord would understand a relaxing sunday afternoon rabbit hunt with the family between church services.

We are not just talking deer hunting here...all hunting applies.

statjunk

Those states should just make it illegal to leave your house. How can you rest and love the lord if you're moving around? Actually now that I think about it the state governments should mandate the installation of motion detection devices and make it illegal to leave bed unless you are medically incapable of staying in bed in which case you should only be allowed to remain in your room. However in order to stop the wealthy from taking advantage of said law they must set the proper guidelines for what constitues a room. Since no one is leaving the room and must concentrate for thier love of the lord they can also extinguish telecommunications, TV, radio, stop lights etc on Sunday.

Does anyone know what the penalty is?

Tom

VAhuntr

Do you give the bass a break on Sundays or the people who work in resturaunts a break? I respect your opinion but for me sittin in a deer stand is about as relaxing as it gets.



02bhntn,

That is probably the best post I have read concerning Sunday hunting.

02bhntn

Thanks VAhunter. I got another one just as long as the first. Should I post it?

bassfisherman71, I respect the opinions of all, I may not agree , but it is YOUR opinion. I have one question for you. WHat exactly do you do on Sunday. Go to church and stay at home with the family? If you do anything other than that then you play right into all the arguments that were laid out in my prior post. If you truely feel that about the rest needed by animals, then don't fish on Sundays either. Don't take your kids out for a relaxing day at the lake, pond, or river. Everything in there needs a day of rest as you believe. Don't go out to eat or the store, the folks therre need a day of rest as well. Eventhough ther is no constitutional right to rest and relaxation. If this is not true then you, by your own standards, are a hypocrite (I'm not calling you a hypocrite directly , but that your stanards are hypocritical in nature).

RobVT3

To quote someone from another forum where I found the link....If animals do indeed need a day to rest, why can't it be on Wednesday?

02bhntn

If you can't tell I AM IN FAVOR OF SUNDAY HUNTING
Round two:
I'd like you to think about this for a minute. Sunday hunting, that is. Is there an issue here? The first question is whether this should be a debate at all. No doubt, the current illegality of Sunday hunting is the result of the "Blue Laws" of Pilgrim times. Hunting was then illegal because it was another individual pursuit not to be followed on the Puritan day of worship. It was also illegal to till one's fields, open one's store for business or drink alcoholic beverages. The only acceptable behaviors for Sunday were forms of communion with a Christian God. All other behaviors were deemed illegal.

Time passes and states change. Of course, now we allow individual liberties to a significantly greater degree than the Pilgrims did back then. Now we engage in business, enjoy our recreation and may even relax our religious devotion without violation of the law. That is, all of us may pursue any activity legal on any other day of the week except hunting.

On closer inspection, it isn't even very clear why the law barring hunting on Sunday remains on the books except that we removed all the other Blue Laws piecemeal (usually as a result of business pressure) and have now logically gotten around to this one. I say logically because there can be no basis in civil liberty for its continuance. And furthermore, there is no question that hunting, as a recreational pastime, is as reasonable as the Sunday drive or boating or hiking or cutting wood or any of the other individual pursuits of men and women everywhere.

Unless...the old Blue Law is now being used as a means of personal discrimination by the few as it was once used as a vehicle for religious restriction by the many. And there appears to be ample evidence for this conjecture.

I'll say here that this should not be a question for the proponents or the adversaries of hunting per se. The law should not be used to force the views of one ideological group upon another. Not in these United States, at least. Here, the law is formulated for the good of the society. Laws are meant to enforce and model by both content and process reasonable behavior for the population as a whole. In this country, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (when these don't unduly threaten the safety of the community) are the reasonable behaviors we base our society upon.

Putting aside the question of discriminatory application of the law for a bit, is hunting a reasonable liberty and pursuit of the population? Does hunting unduly threaten the safety of the individual or endanger the fabric of our community? Let's briefly examine these points.

What is a reasonable liberty? By our own standards of behavior, driving a vehicle is reasonable. It is also likely to be the most dangerous behavior we engage in for both others and ourselves around us. But we consider this reasonable nonetheless and not unduly threatening. So too, power boating. Despite the very high risk of accidental drowning and injury, and the obvious risks of sharing finite water space with swimmers (who enjoy similar risks) and sailors, boating is accepted as reasonable. Hiking is also reasonable. Hikers erode trails, damage wild plants and harass wildlife. Unintentionally or not the nature of hiking is intrusion into non-human dominated spaces. Hiking also results in unwanted contact between strangers in remote places and (accidental?) trespass but hiking too is deemed a reasonable individual recreation. The list goes on. The cutting of wood is permitted. It too may encompass real risks for the person and the environment along with the air and noise pollution it creates, nonetheless it too is reasonable.

All of the outdoor activities noted above are reasonable and all are legal to pursue on Sunday but not hunting. Is hunting riskier to the participant or the non-participant than these? No. The insurance actuarial tables are clear on the greater risks of injury and death from driving, swimming, boating, hiking, chain sawing, bicycling, etc. All of these are greater risks to the individual and the community than hunting. Therefore, we allow reasonable people to make reasonable efforts to pursue these interests at their liberty on Sunday.

Just to underscore the point made above, we also allow citizens of the Commonwealth to also consume alcohol and then consider it reasonable for them to use good judgment while under the influence of a known mind altering drug in their further choices of behavior. We even allow them to alter their minds with alcohol and THEN drive and partake in the various dangerous and destructive activities listed above! This is certainly a notable recognition of the value personal liberty has for us.

By way of comparison of their behavior and/or threat to the community, hunters are certainly less numerous than hikers and by necessity they utilize out of the way locales. Hunting is so much more difficult than hiking or biking that it is often ruined just by the presence of others regardless of their willingness to share the natural resources or not. Hunters are certainly quieter than sawyers and pollute less than any engine driven vehicle. They are responsible for the operation of significantly less dangerous machinery than a car or a boat (according to the insurance companies) and often have no cause to operate their bow or firearm at all in the course of a day afield. Think about it, how many people just sit in their car or boat without ever starting it up and going somewhere?

In addition, hunters must have demonstrated, by test or experience, both knowledge of the law and their responsibilities under it to be licensed for their activity. Only automobile operators have a similar responsibility. Sawyers, bikers, riders, boaters, sailors and such have no such requirement to demonstrate their awareness of the dangers or impact of their pastimes in shared public places.

It is also important to recognize and honor that hunters pay the state a license fee directly to support the environment of their pursuit. These are the same environmental resource that others do not pay a cent to enjoy as well. Do hikers pay? Boaters? Campers? Swimmers? I could go on.

Now that we have a broader view of what is reasonable and realistic behavior in public places, let's expand upon an earlier point. Times change. In these times, it is not uncommon for a working person trying to care for their family to work two jobs or six days a week or a weekend job. This is certainly a laudable though often necessary sacrifice and I think you would agree that such individuals should be respected for their efforts and for their responsibility to their family and community. Then isn't it unreasonable to deny this person the opportunity to pursue their interests on the one day they are likely to have any time off for themselves? Do we really expect everyone to be so well off that they can and should take a weekday or a Saturday off from work if they want to go hunting? Is it our intent nowadays to support a law against Sunday hunting that means that responsible hard working individuals should just accept loosing out because they have put their family first? It sure looks like the "haves" are unwilling to share what is in the public trust with the "have-nots".
It is time to join the 21st Century. The "Blue Laws" of the 19th Century no longer apply to today's society. Today's society is a 7-day workweek with little time spent pursuing ones chosen recreational activities. The continued balking at the issue of Sunday hunting is tantamount to "Recreational Discrimination”. There are many arguments that arise in the presence of this issue. All of which hold no weight when really scrutinized. It seems that the biggest debate is the religious belief that Sunday is a day of worship. Isn't there a thing nowadays supported by the constitution called the separation of Church and State. It seems that the continued use of this argument is unconstitutional.

HuntingEd

thanks for doing this, I hunt a lot in VA, (dont live there, but have property and a lease there) Signed it a few weeks ago. It'd be great for me cause i only get limited time down there and would give me that extra day...

monster10rackstack

Ill help you out I get to hunt on Sunday in Indiana

Talondale

I wasn't talking about the Government being classy, I was talking about the citizens. What I'm trying to convey, and fairly poorly it would seem, is that these blue laws, and this one in particular, don't represent an oppressive government to me. For me these reflect an attitude that was once prevalent in society: Back when a majority of the population professed a faith, went to church, when manners were common place and you could leave your front door unlocked even at night, children were safe to run through the neighborhood, where your word was your bond, where leisure time wasn't the center of life but just a part of it. A time when people didn't worry so much about their "rights" asthey weredoing what was "right". Men like Saxton Pope, Fred Bear, Art Young,and Howard Hill. When men still wore suits and fedora hats.

Keep in mind that early on it was not the government imposing it's will on the people but the people imposing it's will on the government. Like dry counties, blue laws reflected the attitude of the people at the time.

Let me say, that according to my principles of how this government should be run, and what the power of the people should be, I completely agree that hunters have the right and power to change the law and most likely will at some time in the future. With that being said, I am still sad that this will happen because it reflects a change in the attitudes, and values of Americans. I am not just addressing the issue of Faith either. I am under no illusion that the country was monolithic in it's faith at any time in our history. But it is historical fact that for a majority of our history a majority of our populations did practice a Judeo/Christian faith of one sect or another. Furthermore, and possibly what I miss most since if the ranks of Christians have lessened it is a result of the failures and short comings of the believers themselves and so we should only critisize ourselves in that regard, even the unbelievers and agnostics at least showed a level of respect and reverence for the beliefs of others. Today, that is not the case. Just one more sign of, what I consider, a failing society, and I mourn the passing of a better time. I don't expect all to agree or to understand but the fact that we are able to look at this culture as it is and look at what it once was and can be blind to the horrors that we subject ourselves to and except as commonplace saddens me greatly. No, I don't think Sunday hunting codemns us all, or is the source of all evil, or is an indication that a person is evil, but it is a symptom of the coarsening of our culture. Most of you are young and have known nothing else,and so will not givecredence to what I say,but there are those who are older and can remember a glimpse of a different time and better ways. There voices are becoming fewer and fewer.

Tbyrnzy82

Signed and I wish the best of luck to ya'll

Tim