Massachusetts: Several Sunday Hunting Bills Pending in the State Legislature

Please contact members of the Joint Committee on Environmental, Natural Resources and Agriculture and urge them to support repealing the prohibition on Sunday hunting!

Four bills regarding Sunday hunting have been introduced in the 189th General Court in Massachusetts.  The bills are currently waiting to be heard by the Joint Committee on Environmental, Natural Resources and Agriculture.  The following bills address the current ban on Sunday hunting in the Commonwealth:

• Senate Bill 429
  
• House Bill 762
  
• House Bill 3236
  
• House Bill 3239

Massachusetts is one of only three states with an absolute prohibition on Sunday hunting.  Laws prohibiting hunting on Sundays are among the last of America's "blue laws," and for many reasons should be repealed.  This prohibition denies hunters access one day per week despite the fact that each year, sportsmen provide millions of dollars to habitat restoration and conservation through purchases of firearms, ammunition, archery equipment and hunting licenses. Repealing the Sunday hunting ban would bring Massachusetts in line with the vast majority of the country, including neighboring New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont—where hunters are more likely to spend their money to hunt a full weekend.

Countless hunters stop hunting because of the lack of opportunity, time and accessible land. The addition of an extra day in the field, especially on the weekend, increases the opportunity for those individuals to experience hunting and would undoubtedly invigorate essential hunter recruitment and retention efforts.  Not to mention, one more day out of the week gives hunters a chance to provide an economic benefit to many rural areas in Massachusetts.

Please contact the members of the Joint Committee on Environmental, Natural Resources and Agriculture and ask for their support.