Image credit: Hunter courtesy of svgsilh.com under Creative Commons, Pennsylvania courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, manipulation and composite by America’s 1stFreedom staff.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill into law Wednesday that legalized Sunday hunting in the state for three days a year. Sunday hunting was banned in Pennsylvania since colonial times, except for a few specific circumstances
“This legislation carefully balances the needs of landowners with an expanded opportunity for hunters who work or attend school during weekdays,” said Wolf, in a press release.
The Pennsylvania Senate voted 38-11 in favor of Senate Bill 147, which included an amendment that requires hunters to get written permission from landowners when hunting on Sundays. The legislation allows for Sunday hunting one day during rifle deer season, one during archery deer season and one more Sunday determined by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The NRA Institute for Legislative Action reported that the “legislation would allow hunters more time to take part in one of America’s oldest traditions. Further, hunters are responsible for millions of habitat restoration and conservation dollars through Pittman-Robertson taxes paid on firearms and other hunting equipment. Hunters should have access to hunting lands made possible by these funds.”
“Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania is a phenomenal victory for sportsmen and women,” said Lawrence G. Keane, vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) based in Newtown, Conn
“The addition of just these three days allows for working mothers and fathers to take three more days in the woods and marshes with their children to pass along shared hunting traditions,” said the NSSF.