I must admit when I was a youngster on Sunday afternoon I would sit in the top of the barn and guard the garden from groundhogs. The most I ever got in one afternoon was three using a double barrel 12 gauge. Two were close together and one was 90 degrees from my position so I timed the shot and got all three. I was not hunting them for meat, I was hunting them as pests. We had a rule if I could find their den I could put them back, but if not I had to bury them. I would spend long periods of time looking for the hole so I didn’t have to dig. I’m not actually sure if that was legal all those years ago, but currently it would be illegal under our current laws in NC.
§ 103-2. Hunting on Sunday.
If any person shall, except in defense of his own property, hunt on Sunday, having with him a shotgun, rifle, or pistol, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. Provided, that the provisions hereof shall not be applicable to military reservations, the jurisdiction of which is exclusively in the federal government, or to field trials authorized by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Wildlife protectors are granted authority to enforce the provisions of this section. (1868-9, c. 18, ss. 1, 2; Code, s. 3783; Rev., s. 3842; C.S., s. 3956; 1945, c. 1047; 1967, c. 1003; 1979, c. 830, s. 13; 1989, c. 642, s. 3; 1993, c. 539, s. 684; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)
Legislation was introduced this session, H640, to change the law and allow hunting on private land on Sunday, but it has already been watered down to where if it passes one cannot hunt before noon. I’m not sure why we keep all the blue laws nowadays. What is special about Sunday in today’s society? I know long-held religious beliefs require keeping the Sabbath holy, but in reality who practices that? If you need to mow the lawn do you? How about if you are farmer and the crop needs to be harvested, do you let it sit or harvest? Many people worship throughout the week so why hold Sunday in higher regard than other days of the week? Many people still have a traditional work week, but I often find myself working part of Sunday and in some cases traveling on Sunday. I just don’t see why we need religious beliefs of a few creeping into society as a whole. Rules created in the past because of religious ideology just don’t pass the sniff test today. We should allow hunting on Sunday just as we should allow any activity which happens routinely Monday through Saturday.
Our legislators should eliminate the before noon portion of the verbiage and pass the bill to allow hunting on Sunday.
