By TNHUNTING.COM STAFF

RALEIGH, N.C. — It doesn't appear that Tennessee's eastern neighbors will be hunting on Sunday anytime soon.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission backed off an original stance to support Sunday hunting at its meeting December 6, which came fresh off a survey that found North Carolinans in opposition to Sunday hunting by a better than two-to-one margin.

The NCWRC originally voted 11-5 to support Sunday hunting; however, that vote would have been a show of support only, since the ultimate say on Sunday hunting must come from North Carolina's state legislature, not the wildlife resources commission.

Later in the same meeting, the commission withdrew the motion and substituted a motion calling for a study on public opinion of Sunday hunting to be submitted to North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and the 2007 state legislature without making a recommendation.

Gov. Easley and the legislators had requested the study to determine public opinion towards Sunday hunting, an issue that surfaces often in the hunting-rich state. The NCWRC conducted the study — at a cost of $150,000 — by first holding public hearings and by next conducting the statewide survey.

The survey found 65% of those responding opposed to allowing hunting for deer, dove and ducks on Sunday. Most of those opposed cited religious reasons for their decision. Only 25% responded in favor of Sunday hunting.

And while the study was sharply criticized by some who said it was unreasonable to poll the non-hunting public for their opinion on Sunday hunting, the survey found that even hunters are sharply divided on the issue. Of hunters responding to the survey, 49% were in favor of Sunday hunting, while 45% opposed it.

Sunday hunting was prohibited in North Carolina beginning in 1869. It was originally banned for religious purposes, and the ban is one of the "blue laws" originally passed to ensure that Sunday was a day used for religious purposes only. Today, most of those ancient blue laws are no longer on the books, as society has shifted away from using Sunday, considered the Sabbath by many protestant religious denominations, for religious purposes only.

Across the nation, most states permit Sunday hunting without restriction. Of the 50 U.S. states, 39 permit Sunday hunting. But 11 states up and down the eastern seaboard still have restrictions on the books. South Carolina permits Sunday hunting on private land only, while West Virginia permits Sunday hunting only in certain counties. North Carolina and Maryland allow Sunday hunting in certain instances. Virginia, Deleware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachussetts and Maine prohibit all forms of Sunday hunting.

Proponents of Sunday hunting, which include the National Rifle Association, point out that most hunters only have two days each week — Saturday and Sunday — on which they can hunt. And, they say, hunting on Sunday is not contrary to their religion because hunting is a recreation and recreation is generally considered a form of rest. They also point out that disallowing Sunday hunting is hypocritical, since the state's professional football team — the NFL's Carolina Panthers — play their games on Sunday throughout the fall deer seasons, and North Carolina is generally considered the home of Nascar. Nascar's most popular circuit, the Nextel Cup Series, holds most of its races on Sunday.

But opponents of Sunday hunting, which include the Christian Action League of North Carolina, say that gunshots on property nearby churches isn't conductive to peaceful religious services. Some critics also suggest that allowing Sunday hunting would keep fathers away from their families an additional day each week. And, they say, by not allowing Sunday hunting, hikers and wildlife watchers have a day when they can have the woods to themselves.

Opponents of Sunday hunting are not limited to non-hunters, although a scan of popular Internet hunting discussion forums finds discussion since the survey's results were released nearly totally in favor of Sunday hunting. And the North Carolina Farm Bureau, generally favorable to hunting, opposes lifting the Sunday hunting ban.

It has generally been concluded that the extra day of hunting would not significantly impact North Carolina's wildlife herds or its income. A state biologist said that an additional day of hunting would not adversely affect the whitetail deer herd, which he described as "stable," while a consultant hired to dissect the survey's findings said that any funding created by license sales for an additional day of hunting would be offset by the need to hire 72 additional game wardens.

The final decision on Sunday hunting will ultimately be made by the North Carolina state legislature sometime during its 2007 term. But many on both sides of the debate figure the effort to remove the Sunday hunting ban dead in the water in light of the lopsided survey and the wildlife resources commission's failure to endorse a lift on the ban. The Christian Action League of North Carolina has promised to continue to fight the possibility of a ban removal before the state legislature, while hunters in the state supporting Sunday hunting say they aren't giving up their fight, either.

Email the author | Discuss it on our forums | More conservation news