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Main Page Ban on Sunday hunting may fall
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

By Toni Scott, Enterprise correspondent and Alice Elwell, Enterprise correspondent

BOSTON — Over the years, as Massachusetts lawmakers rescinded various bans on Sunday activities, state residents have been able to buy groceries, shop for furniture and purchase booze seven days a week. The next big target: hunting.

Under a bill now before the Legislature, a restriction dating back to Colonial days would be lifted, allowing hunters to take up their guns on Sundays.

“There is no actual reason why residents can't hunt on Sundays,” said Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owner's Action League, or GOAL. “You can do everything else on Sundays.”

The bill is sponsored by Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, with the backing of GOAL. Rep. Christine Canavan, a Brockton Democrat, favors the change.

“I have always supported a person's right to hunt,” Canavan said in a phone interview.

Canavan said she supports GOAL and signed onto the legislation after calls from voters in her district.

“I've had constituents contact me, who want to be able to hunt on their off-time, but their work schedule doesn't allow for it,” Canavan said. “Many times people end up having to work on Saturdays. Opening up Sundays for them to hunt would let them still be able to practice the sport.”

Wallace said many hunters often have to travel to nearby states in order to hunt on their one free day. “We're left not being able to hunt and enjoy the outdoors in our own state because of this law,” Wallace said.

Hunting bans vary across the country.

*Six states besides Massachusetts prohibit Sunday hunting: Delaware, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey and Connecticut.

*Four states allow hunting only on selected Sundays: Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina and West Virginia.

Opponents say more days for the hunters would mean less respite for the hunted.
“For six days a week, four months a year, armed hunters roam the land,” said Helen Rayshick, executive director of the Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition. “This would lead to more of our precious wildlife being killed.”

“Why in the world are the sponsors of this bill wasting this committee's valuable time and diverting its attention from the important work it needs to do,” Rayshick said. “It panders to the tiny hunting interest group.”

Police Lt. David M. Mackiewicz, who issues firearms permits in Middleboro, said Sunday hunting would generate more complaints from residents.

“We're getting calls already,” he said.

Lifting some other Sunday bans have not caused an uproar, such as stores opening. But with hunting comes controversy and Mackiewicz said many feel Sunday is the one day each week during hunting season folks can walk in the woods without worrying about hunters.

Last year, Massachusetts licensed 70,000 hunters, about 1 percent of the state's population. Gobi, the lead sponsor of the bill, said although that number seems low, it adds up to a lot of money for the state.

Five dollars of every license fee goes to the state Division of Wildlife and Fisheries for land acquisition. Last year alone, Gobi said, the agency was able to purchase 4,000 acres of land for public use. This includes trail riding, camping and exploration, as well as hunting.

Gobi also said that she is open to working with opponents to strike a favorable agreement.

“There's always room for compromise,” Gobi said. “We have looked at opening certain Sundays to hunting, rather than every Sunday. We want to reach an agreement that everyone can be happy with.”

The bill was set for a hearing before the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security last Tuesday, but the hearing was canceled due to traffic issues from the Red Sox celebration parade.

Committee staff anticipated rescheduling the hearing for Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

“It would be great for the poor guy that has to work six days a week to feed his family,” said Christopher C. Reed, owner of Reedy's Archery in Middleboro.

He doesn't expect the bill to pass, saying all the “blue laws” have been rolled back except the hunting ban.

Reed is one of the many hunters who flee the state to hunt in New Hampshire. “I've always hunted on Sunday.”

But he said the change would allow many hunters to stay home with their families rather than crossing state lines.

One hunter who goes out of state said the ban shouldn't be lifted.

“We pursue game six days a week. That's enough. Everything needs a rest,” said Wayne Nickerson of Kingston, a self-employed commercial fisherman who has a lot of down time in the fall and winter. “I hunt a lot, I hunt when the opportunity arises,” he said.

Canavan's aide, Michael Mullen, said if the bill passes, it would be implemented by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and up to them to determine which species, deer rabbit, bullfrogs or pheasants to name a few, could be hunted on Sundays.

Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for Fisheries and Wildlife, said the division hasn't taken a position on the legislation.

http://enterprise.southofboston.com/...ews/news13.txt

Posted by: SOT

You know some people are so stupid, example:
The guy that hunts out of state who says the ban shouldn't be lifted. WTF is that about?
“We pursue game six days a week. That's enough. Everything needs a rest,”
Hey dip shit, if everything needs a rest then why are you hunting on Sunday in other states?
If they open up hunting on Sundays, it should be limited to primitive firearms only.

Posted by: C73

Nice to see the EPO management stepping up and taking a position on this. And we wonder why noone knows who we are....

C73

Posted by: screamineagle

I for one would like to see the ban lifted.

Posted by: resqjyw0

Last year there was a bill to allow hunting on the only Sunday of the deer gun season to make it continuous from one week to the next. Didn't pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helen Rayshick

“This would lead to more of our precious wildlife being killed.”

Typical animal lover statement that probably isn't living in Holliston or anywhere else in MA worrying about the water supply because of those effin beavers and their dams since the trapping ban.

I would like to see the ban raised. I deer and turkey hunt on Sunday's in NY. I can only make my hunts out there weekend events so having that extra day is very nice. I appreciate it as much as I do and don't take it for granted because of the Sunday hunting ban in Mass. Actually the deer and turkey hunting in NY is the only deer and turkey hunting I've done the last few years except for the controlled deer hunts by the DCR in the Quabbin Reservior and will be on the Prescott Peninsula again this year. I still get my turkey permit, and extra doe tags to give MassWildlife the extra money even though I haven't used them.

Being realistic about things, I doubt it will pass with this being Massachusetts and people like Helen Rayshick.

Quote:

Reed is one of the many hunters who flee the state to hunt in New Hampshire. “I've always hunted on Sunday.”

I know Chris Reed as I stop down in his shop a couple times a year. He's had some health issues lately, I wonder how he managed to get up to NH to hunt the Sundays last year.

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