Group Taking Sunday Hunting Battle to Pa. Supreme Court, By Bob Frye
Published: Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The fight to bring Sunday hunting to Pennsylvania is not over yet.A grassroots sportsmen’s coalition called Hunters United for Sunday Hunting is preparing to take the battle to the courts rather than the legislature.The group expects to sign a contract with an attorney within a few weeks, with the intention of going to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court with its case no later than July.“We seek to re-establish hunting as a constitutional right and abolish the Sunday hunting ban at the same time,” said Kathy Davis of Speers in Washington County, one of the group’s volunteers. “That is our goal.The was also the goal of the National Rifle Association, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, National Shooting Sports Foundation and others last year when they put on a major push to convince state lawmakers to pass a bill that would have allowed the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide if and when to include Sundays in hunting seasons. But the bill never even came up for a vote.That seemed to be the last chance for Sunday hunting advocates, at least for a while. But Hunters United for Sunday Hunting isn’t giving up.In fact, the group is optimistic long-standing law and some more recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions make this the perfect time to take on the Sunday hunting ban. The fight will be expensive, though.
The group estimates it will need $70,000 to $150,000 to wage a legal battle. It’s asking sportsmen to foot the bill. “We want this to be a grassroots movement, and we want every Joe Hunter who contributes to have as much say as the next, whether they contribute $5 or $500,”
Davis said. The group collected more than $7,000 in its first two weeks. That’s enough to get started, and Davis and her fellow volunteers hope the suit will succeed where proposed legislation failed.“Lawmakers had 25-plus years to act on this and they did not, so we’re going to take it out of their hands and go straight to the courts,” Davis said.
11 comments:
I believe Sunday Hunting should be allowed. Why the ongoing debate about it?
Not sure to be honest with you. I am originally from NY State and we have had Sunday hunting up there for many years. Has been great for me and my family. It has provided us many opportunities to get out that we may not have had otherwise.
Thanks for posting Dave. Hunters United for Sunday Hunting can be found at www.huntsunday.com and on facebook https://www.facebook.com/HuntersUnitedForSundayHunting
Kathy
Too many politics involved in Pa's deer management. Many believe this is just another ploy for the pgc to kill more deer, and most of us just do not trust them with that added power. They have ruined hunting enough as it is.
I would totally agree that deer management in PA is way too political.
If you look at the members of hush, it pretty much tells the story. All are tied to the wrong side of the "deer wars". Davis is an environmental extreme type who has lobbied for fewer deer for years. First is a well known environmentalist. And an ex pgc executive director who helped to put the deer management plan in place. Its ALL about killing more deer. Anyone with two eyes should be able to see that quite easily.
If Sunday hunting is added to the season, deer numbers can easily be controlled through the number of antlerless deer permits allocated. If the season length is increased PGC can decrease the number of permits allocated to keep the harvest the same. Sunday hunting is about about providing opportunities to get out in the woods with family and friends. Having two boys who are heavily involved in sports I can tell you they missed many opportunites to hunt this past year because they always had other commitments on Sundays. Their basketball coach didn't care if it was the first Saturday of the season!
"If Sunday hunting is added to the season, deer numbers can easily be controlled through the number of antlerless deer permits allocated."
Could be....but WOULDNT BE. If this is simply a tool to achieve even further reductions as many believe. If packaged as such, it would have far less acceptance.
"Sunday hunting is about about providing opportunities to get out in the woods with family and friends."
Perhaps, for some individuals supporting it. But certainly not where the biggest current "push" is coming from. A previous post summed it up... Just look at who those people are. Makes things clear as a crystal.
http://deerhunter777.wix.com/sportsmen-alert
This has been floating all over the internet. Very interesting I thought.
Seriously, an activity that could simply be described as a means to eat by some, should certainly not have a restriction put on it just because of the day of the week.
How about a law that bans Facebook for teens on Sundays - now that WOULD be productive !
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