Pennsylvania: Sunday Hunting Legislation Open to Cosponsorship

Please contact your state Representative and urge him or her to cosponsor Representative Farina’s and Representative Godshall’s Sunday hunting bill today.

This week, Representative Frank Farina (D-112) and Representative Robert Godshall (R-53) will be circulating a memo for cosponsorship of an NRA-backed Sunday hunting bill.  This legislation, yet to be assigned a number, would permit hunting on Sundays in the Keystone State.

The prohibition on Sunday hunting is an old blue law left on the books in just a handful of states.  This prohibition denies hunters access one day per week despite the fact that each year hunters pump millions of dollars into habitat restoration and conservation through Pittman-Robertson funds and are primarily responsible for healthy ecosystems throughout Pennsylvania.

Many hunters are prohibited from introducing their children or friends to hunting because Saturday is their only opportunity, and they are competing with numerous organized sports and other activities.  Countless hunters stop hunting because of the lack of opportunity, both in time and accessible land.  The addition of an extra day in the field, especially on the weekend, increases the opportunity to enjoy our hunting heritage.  Allowing hunting on Sundays would invigorate essential hunter recruitment and retention efforts.

Sunday hunting would also bring a much-needed economic boost to rural areas.  Every day that hunters are in the field, they spend money on gasoline, food, lodging and the dozens of other incidentals that go along with a day's hunt.  The ripple effect of this spending can have a major impact on a rural town or county.  Comprehensive research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that allowing hunting on Sundays in Pennsylvania would generate a total annual economic impact estimated at $764 million and create more than 8,000 jobs.  In addition to this much needed economic spark, this legislation would clearly help advance and preserve the Keystone State's rich hunting traditions, while enhancing biodiversity and wildlife populations.

Within recent years, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners adopted a resolution supporting the repeal of the statutory prohibition on Sunday hunting.  The Board formally recognized many of the negative impacts that the Sunday hunting ban has on Pennsylvania and gave their approval to abolish this outdated blue law.

Please contact your state Representative TODAY and urge him or her to become a cosponsor of the Farina/Godshall Sunday hunting bill.  If you are unsure of who represents you, click here.

Also, please sign this petition TODAY and urge family, friends and fellow pro-hunting Pennsylvanians to do the same. 

Your NRA-ILA will continue to update you on this legislation as it moves through the Pennsylvania Legislature.