Steve182,
this is going to sound confrontational, but I really don't mean it to be. I genuinely want to understand the other side of the argument.

you say that you can see both sides of the "no hunting on Sunday" debate. Can you explain the argument against hunting on Sunday for me?

no one has been able to explain it to me in a way that stands up to scrutiny.

is it that the separation of church and state clause only applies to the federal gov't? (which is true by the way) Therefore, the states should be free to legislate religious beliefs?

or do you see a scientific argument that banning hunting on Sunday is a more effective way than shortening seasons, lowering bag limits, etc... to ease hunting pressure on game species?

or is there some other reason I'm not seeing.

I am for the change to the starting date of the gun season. Opening day monday is like a national holiday in the state. Schools and buisnesses close and the ones that stay open can hardly operate because nobody shows up. Schools close for the entire week becuase of poor attandance and personel absentees. This change may aleviate some of this. The division of natural resources can regulate the length of the season to change with the deer population changes. On the topic of sunday hunting I work 6 days a week. The only time I can hunt is when I take vaction days which are in limited supply. Why am I not allowed to enjoy hunting like everbody else? If your worried about church attendance on Sunday. The guys that skip to go hunting were not going to be there to begin with. You want hunting to be closed, but you sure like going to a resturant or stoping by the store for odds and ends on Sunday!! If you do not agree with Sunday hunting...then don't go. That is your personal choice. But please stop forcing your personal choices on others!!

Not many holier places to keep the Sabbath than contemplating our place in the woods.

You know I dont understand when someone speaks their opinion on an article that asks "What do you think?" they get negative points from people. ("007") It doesn't say agree with the majority or dont post anything. It asks to post what you think. Negative points should be given to off topic, offensive, or just plain ignorant posts. Not to people taking the time to intelligently give their opinion.

Here in my part of VA many people hunt deer with dogs. I've always been taught that the wildlife deserves a fair chance. (I know some of you may not think hunting with dogs does that, but anyway.) So around here Sunday gives a break to the deer. I don't really see anything wrong with still-hunting on Sunday. I don't feel like it really puts pressure on the deer like dog hunting.

And one last thing shouldn't we all be conservationists? I kind of got the vibe from an earlier post that something was wrong with that. Dont be one and see how long you get to enjoy this sport.

My opinion depends largely on the over population of deer, if there are too many deer then by all means extend the season by opening it earlier and allow hunting on Sunday. I believe that a law that doesn't allow hunters to hunt on one of the two days they get off, is nuts. I understand the biblical idea, but here in the north we don't have a similar law, and most of the church goes here catch either the morning or evening service and hunt through the other.

I have always had the opportunity to hunt on Sun. I think it is awesome because a lot of people don't hunt sun. anyways and its a good weekend day without a lot of other people in the field. I have taken many deer on a Sun. and it should be allowed everywhere. If they want to go to church instead then they could still be allowed to hunt the evening.

I really think we are kidding ourselves if we think that "no hunting on Sunday" regulations are designed to give the deer a break. If that were the case why not ban hunting on some other day? Wednesday perhaps?

it seems a little convenient that this day just happens to coincide with the sabbath; and that these regulations are most common in places where social conservatives use the government to force evangelical agendas on the populous.

oh, and some of you are about to say that banning hunting on Wednesday won't be effective since almost no one hunts during the week when everyone is at work. I will then quickly point out that by your own logic the deer already have 5 days of rest per week without any DNR regulated "day of rest"

Ken, let me clarify. I am For Sunday hunting completely. I can understand however, non-hunters (not antis) who live in heavily hunted areas opposing it, namely gun-hunting. I see no valid reason against Sunday archery hunts.

so if the argument is that non-hunters deserve one day per week with no shotgun or rifle blasts coming from the woods why can't that day be; say... Wednesday?

I think If we look at this issue closely we will see that these regulations are left over from a time when the church and state are even more entangled than they currently are.

The clergy saw that were fewer men in the pews during hunting season so they told the legislators to ban hunting on Sundays to bring church attendance up. Of course, the legislators obliged.

Fast forward to the 21st century and we are stuck with basing our conservation policy on century old theology instead of sound modern ecology.

Just my two cents, but I would love a better explanation from someone.

My family owns a house and hunting land in WV so we go to WV the Sunday before the season starts and come home Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Then the gun season in Maryland opens on Saturday where we usually hunt. If WV wants to open the season on Saturday, that is fine by me. Saturday I think is the best day to open hunting season.

i don't agree with hunting on Sunday, that is up for change in NC for the 2009-2010 season and i hope it doesn't pass.