Pa. lawmakers try again to lift near-total ban on Sunday hunting

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

Pennsylvanians are one step closer to hunting deer, turkeys and bears on Sundays, after the state House passed a bill Wednesday to lift the longtime near-total ban.

Supporters have said repealing the ban would expand tourism to some of the state’s rural areas, while aiding wildlife conservation efforts and helping limit deer populations.

Sponsored by Allegheny County Democrat Mandy Steele, the latest bill passed the House in a 131-to-72 vote Wednesday. From Lancaster County, only Democratic House members Izzy Smith-Wade-El and Nikki Rivera favored the bill.

“Not being able to hunt on Sundays creates major hurdles for busy families,” Steele said during floor debate. “It’s a significant barrier for working people.”

Steele also said the bill would help farmers combat the deer and wildlife harming their crops.

Lawmakers last year failed to send similar repeal bills to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk after each chamber approved versions that were not taken to a vote by the other chamber.

Steele’s legislation is a companion to Erie Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin’s bill, which has not been considered in the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee since March.

Laughlin called the ban an “outdated prohibition that has restricted access for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts for far too long.”

“Whether it’s my bill or Representative Steele’s, if it ends the prohibition on Sunday hunting, I’ll be a yes vote,” he said.

Laughlin led the successful push in 2019 to allow the state Game Commission to choose three Sundays a year when hunting is allowed — one in archery season, one in rifle season and another determined by the Commission.

The Senate must consider Steele’s Sunday hunting expansion before it could be sent to the governor to be signed into law.

Per the original 1873 hunting restriction law, sportsmen can hunt coyotes, foxes and crows on any day, including Sunday.

Building support

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s longtime opposition to repealing the Sunday ban made the issue a nonstarter for many Republicans in past years.

But the organization backed Laughlin’s proposal last year after it was amended to include tougher trespassing penalties and the addition of a new agriculture representative for the state Game Commission. Those provisions are included in Steele’s House bill.

Still, some outdoor groups — including the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania chapter and the Keystone Trails Association — have said Sundays should be left without hunting so residents can hike or be in nature without concern about hunters.

Allowing Sunday hunting is a favorable idea among Pennsylvania’s registered voters. A Franklin & Marshall College poll last year found that 49% of respondents favor lifting the ban, while 34% said they want the ban to remain in place; 16% said they did not know.

Lancaster’s delegation

All seven of Lancaster County’s Republican House members opposed Steele’s bill Wednesday, as they did last year when a version of her proposal was voted on. None spoke during the floor debate in opposition to the bill.

Last year, after the House Game & Fisheries Committee held a March public hearing on Sunday hunting, Rep. Dave Zimmerman sought input on the legislation from subscribers to his emailed newsletter.

The East Earl Township Republican said in a text after he cast his “no” vote Wednesday that he opposed Sunday hunting because farmers in his district oppose hunting on their farms on the Sabbath — a weekly day of rest for Christians.

Former Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler, of Peach Bottom, has said he’s opposed Sunday hunting because his constituents consistently contact him to voice their opposition to it.

And Rep. Keith Greiner, of Upper Leacock Township, said last year he opposed the proposal because he had concerns about Sunday hunting “disrupting the lives and recreational habits” of people within his district.

Lancaster’s state senators also have been split on the issue.

Sen. Chris Gebhard, chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, last year backed the Sunday hunting repeal, while Sen. Scott Martin, a Republican who chairs the Appropriations Committee, opposed it.

Newly elected Sen. James Malone is the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s Game & Fisheries Committee. He is a co-sponsor of Laughlin’s legislation.