by Brian McCombie - Monday, June 30, 2025
Legislation that would fully repeal Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting ban recently passed the state’s House of Representatives in the form of House Bill 1431. The bill now moves onto the State Senate for consideration.
As noted in a Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) news release, HB 1431 was approved by the House Game and Fisheries Committee on June 3 then forwarded to the House where it passed by a vote of 131 to 72.
“This bill is identical to Senate Bill 67, introduced in March [2025] by Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie,” the news release noted. “The Game Commission supports both bills, either of which would end the state’s prohibition on Sunday hunting and allow the Game Commission to include Sundays when establishing hunting seasons annually.”
Important to note, the news release underscored hunters’ vital role in science-based wildlife management.
“Though hunters play an active role in helping to manage wildlife populations, through the purchase of their licenses and other revenue they generate, they also fund wildlife conservation at a larger scale, for all species,” said PGC Executive Director Steve Smith. “For those reasons and others, it’s important to keep hunters engaged and providing the valuable service they do. These bills would help accomplish that.”
In 2019, Act 107 provided Sunday hunting opportunities in Pennsylvania for foxes, coyotes and crows, plus additional hunting on three designated Sundays. Sunday hunting is otherwise prohibited in Pennsylvania, one of the last remnants of the state’s “blue laws.”
As we noted on the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum website (NRAHLF.org) in 2021, blue laws were established in Colonial America and were designed to encourage Christian worship on Sundays. Stores and taverns, for example, were closed on Sundays throughout much of Colonial New England. Work, various leisure activities and hunting also were banned or frowned upon by the larger societies. When Colonial America became the United States, many states included the blue laws in their legal and regulatory frameworks.
In working to protect hunters’ rights and the future of hunting and wildlife conservation, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has always supported the end of these Sunday hunting bans. While most states have done away with such blue law regulations, as the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) “Sunday Hunting Bans” fact sheet notes, 11 states have full or partial Sunday hunt bans still in place. It points to the fact there is no evidence that allowing hunting on Sundays negatively impacts church attendance and highlights that states with the most abundant game populations are all among those that allow Sunday hunting.
“In fact, according to a 2014 Gallup poll, out of the top 10 states in the country for church attendance, North Carolina is the only state that restricts hunting on Sundays,” the fact sheet explains. “Furthermore, three of the bottom 10 states for church attendance fully prohibit hunting on Sundays. Hence, giving citizens the freedom to hunt on Sundays will not determine their religious tendencies.”
Likewise, there’s no evidence that allowing Sunday hunting would somehow create additional conflicts in the field between hunters, landowners and non-hunters, an often-cited reason for keeping these bans alive.
These bans can even send out the subtle message that there is something wrong with hunting and hunters.
“Restrictions on Sunday hunting effectively treat hunters as second-class citizens and tacitly endorse the view of animal rights extremists that there is something wrong with hunting,” NRA-ILA adds. “Such a view ignores the fact that hunting is part of America’s heritage and hunters contribute billions of dollars to wildlife and conservation programs, through license fees and revenues generated through purchases of firearms, ammunition and archery equipment”—a topic covered regularly on this NRA HLF website.
Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny) introduced HB 1431 and noted, “Sunday hunting allows families an opportunity to educate their children about the great American tradition of protecting wild places, and to foster the deep connection to the land that comes through responsible and respectful hunting.” In tracking the bill’s progress, a Newsweek article quoted Steele who explained that the Sunday hunting ban “is an archaic 'blue law,' not based in the reality of today. It's a law that most states have eliminated long ago. Not being able to hunt on Sundays creates major hurdles for busy families.”
According to the Newsweek article, PGC’s Smith agreed with the reality of today’s demanding schedules and their impact on hunting opportunities. “Hunting takes time, and a lack of time is one of the biggest reasons cited by hunters who stop hunting,” he said.
“Repealing the Sunday hunting ban and allowing the PGC to fully regulate Sunday hunting is an opportunity to provide hunters more time, which will help keep them engaged and carrying out their vital role in managing key wildlife populations,” Smith added. “This legislation is beneficial to hunting's future and the future of wildlife management in the Commonwealth.”
About the Author
Brian McCombie is a field editor for the NRA’s American Hunter and writes about firearms and gear for the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated. A member of the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, he enjoys hunting hogs, shooting 1911s, watching the Chicago Bears and relaxing with his two cats.