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Senate OK's Sunday Hunting on Private PropertyBy Brad Fulton, Capital News Service Monday, January 30, 2012 RICHMOND - Virginians are one step closer to being able to hunt on Sundays. On a 29-11 vote last week, the Senate passed a bill that would allow Sunday hunting on private land.Sen. Ralph Northam, a Democrat from Norfolk, introduced Senate Bill 464. Originally, it would have completely lifted the state’s ban on hunting on Sundays. A committee folded into SB 464 legislation by Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, to permit Sunday hunting “on private property, either as a landowner, the landowner’s spouse or the children of the landowner, or with the written permission of the landowner.” At the request of Sen. Charles Carrico, R-Galax, senators further amended the measure to prohibit hunters from hunting within 250 yards of a place of worship. Of the 20 Democratic senators, 17 for the bill and three voted against it. Of the 20 Republican senators, 12 voted for the bill and eight voted against it. The Triangle's senators, John Miller and Tommy Norment, voted for the bill. “I’m glad that the Senate acted decisively today to roll back an archaic restriction on a constitutional right in Virginia,” Petersen said after the floor vote Thursday. The bill would rescind a state law that prohibits hunting on Sunday on public or private land, declaring it a “rest day for all species of wild bird and wild animal life, except raccoons, which may be hunted until 2 a.m. on Sunday mornings.” Gov. Bob McDonnell said last week that he agrees with lifting the ban on hunting on Sundays on private property. Opposition to lifting the ban has come from groups such as the Virginia Farm Bureau and the Virginia Humane Society. Petersen noted that the National Rifle Association supports his efforts to eliminate the ban on Sunday hunting. According to a survey, two-thirds of licensed hunters in Virginia support hunting on Sundays, Petersen said. The bill now goes to the Virginia House of Delegates. If passed, the measure could open up Sunday hunting as early as next hunting season. |
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Comments
These are the issues that we should be reading about. Why arent the politicians tackling these tough issues. Instead, we are debating whether we should hunt on Sunday?? Does anyone else see the disconnect in Richmond and the same applies in Washington.
The key issue here is "PRIVATE LAND". The commonwealth should not restrict private landowners or their guests from engaging in legal hunting activity on their property in non urban areas. Public land might be a different argument but not when it comes to my property or yours.
Burger: All the bill does is give you the choice. If you don't want to hunt on Sunday then don't.
As a nature enthusiast (the two are not mutually exclusive), I've always enjoyed the fact that I could walk through the woods on a Sunday and not worry about being shot. Of course, this bill only references private land and folks will argue "stay off other's private land and you're safe". That's sometimes easier said then done (knowing where public land stops & private land starts).