Our holiday headlines were full of news about the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” wending its way through Congress and being signed into law by President Trump on the Fourth of July. In Pennsylvania, another much lower profile bill was also making its way through the commonwealth’s legislative bodies, and for the Keystone State’s hunting community and organizations like the Sportsmen’s Alliance, this bill was just as big and beautiful as any other.
The piece of legislation is House Bill 1431, introduced by state Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Allegheny. The bill would lift Sunday hunting prohibition throughout the state. It passed the state House on June 11, then passed the state Senate last week and was then brought before the House for a final vote.
The bill passed by a 142-61 vote and now awaits the signature of Gov. Josh Shapiro for final passage.
“This vote again demonstrates the broad support for this bill,” said Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith, who noted that the bill is backed by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and sportsmen’s groups across the Commonwealth.
“The Game Commission has worked hard on behalf of Pennsylvania’s hunters to help get this bill across the finish line, which now is in sight.”
Pennsylvania’s long-standing ban on Sunday hunting appears to be a far-reaching remnant of the state’s religiously motivated “Blue Laws” which originally restricted or banned certain commercial, business, and recreational activities on Sundays. Over the years many of these laws have been repealed but some (like hunting) still remain in effect.
But if Gov. Shapiro signs HB 1431, which arrived at his desk on July 1, the long battle to open Sundays for hunting in Pennsylvania may finally be won because the bill would lift the ban on Sunday hunting during all hunting seasons in the state. At present, Pennsylvania only allows the hunting of foxes, coyotes, and crows on Sundays.
In 2019, just three other Sundays were approved to allow hunting: one during archery deer season, one during rifle deer season, and one during rifle bear season.
It should be noted that HB 1431 wouldn’t instantly open every Sunday to hunting because the Game Commission would still need to approve adding specific days to the season. But it would allow the Commission to make decisions without any obstacles standing in its way. It would seem likely that, if the bill is signed, the folks at the agency would extend Sunday hunting opportunities throughout deer and bear seasons and approve it for small game seasons, waterfowl seasons, and spring gobbler season.
For perspective, every other state that borders Pennsylvania already allows Sunday hunting. In fact, if and when Gov. Shapiro signs the bill, only two states, Maine and Massachusetts, would still maintain total bans on Sunday hunting.
But securing the governor’s signature on the bill may be no sure thing since there are opponents who point to the possibility that non-hunters like hikers, dog walkers, bikers and birders might feel threatened if forced to share autumn Sundays with hunters in the woods.
The many who support the bill include the Chair of the Game and Fisheries Committee, state Sen. Greg Rothman, who said “It’s an idea whose time has come.”
Final passage of the bill would also be a boon to the Game Commission, an agency that relies on tens of millions of dollars in hunting license sales annually, because all those added hunting opportunities (especially for youngsters with already full Saturday schedules) would likely boost hunter recruitment and retention.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance has long been at the forefront of the fight to expand Sunday hunting opportunities. The organization “guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever” and bills itself as “the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler and trapper when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box.”
Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for MediaNews Group. You can reach him at tatumt2@yahoo.com.
