For those of you who know me and have read a lot of my writings, you have probably heard me tell the following story more than once, so bear with me for a moment. This is a prelude to another story.
My neighbor came over to my house the other day. He is always borrowing my tools and he either doesn’t return them or brings them back broken or damaged. He asked if he could borrow my ax and I told him that he couldn’t because it was Tuesday. He looked at me puzzled for a moment and quizzed me as to what Tuesday had to do with him borrowing my ax.
I explained that it really had nothing to do with it but that I guess if I really didn’t want him to borrow my ax, one excuse was just as good as any.
Sunday hunting has fueled debates in a few states this year, Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina to name three. A few years ago, Maine toyed with the idea but it too didn’t see but a snowball’s chance in hades of finding its way through the legislature.
There’s a handful of states that remain that do not allow any hunting at all on Sunday. A couple that allow limited Sunday hunts and the majority allow it and have for quite some time without any bolts of lightning coming down from the sky as punishment from God.
There are a myriad of excuses why those for and against Sunday hunting, want their way. It’s interesting to hear them and quite enjoyable to laugh at some too. This is why I am reminded of the ax story.
For those of you who have followed my articles and opinions on Sunday hunting, you have probably come to realize that I am pretty much a fence sitter on this issue. I see both sides to legitimate reasons pro and con on Sunday hunting. If I had to take a side, I would probably err on the side of caution for one big reason and one reason only – land access.
Land access is dwindling at a rapid rate and contrary to what some want to believe, it isn’t because landowners don’t want hunters on their land. While that is the case in some instances, most landowners want control of their land and some fear Sunday hunting is another step toward that end. I can’t blame them.
I didn’t come here this morning to fight for or against Sunday hunting. What I am interested in doing is helping people make decisions based or facts and reality not fiction and hypocrisy. I found a letter to the editor in a Virginia newspaper from a writer who would like to put the Sunday hunting issue behind him.
When I first began to read the piece, I thought, “Well, this guy does have a good point.” Here’s what he wrote.
The proposed legislation to allow some form of Sunday hunting in Virginia is DOA, again.
House Bill 2303 was tabled. It would have allowed landowners and others with written permission to hunt on their property on Sundays.
Del. Marshall’s H.B. 1639, which would have allowed Sunday hunting after noon, was “passed by indefinitely,” basically meaning it is dead.
I wish legislators would get the idea that this is not favored in Virginia and stop wasting time every year.
Had the author ended his article there, his point would have been well taken and perhaps he would have even got a few people to say, “Yeah, enough is enough”, at least for now. But he didn’t. He went on to say things that totally discredits any hope he had in making a good point.
The first step any editorial writer is going to do is qualify themselves as being someone of authority, who should be respected for their opinions by who they are. While I believe that will help you get your foot in the editor’s office, it’s what you actually pen that will yield respect for opinion.
I am a forester and I have hunted, and I understand the valid reasons for hunting. However, Sunday hunting is unnecessary, intrusive, and wrong.
This guy immediately sticks his neck into the guillotine. He has made a statement that any sensible person knows he can never qualify. He is a forester, okay and he has hunted – once, twice, three times? He understands the “valid reasons for hunting”. He does?
Hunting is unnecessary! Well, this is not true. There are scores of reasons why hunting is necessary – enjoyable, tradition, food, good management tool, healthy for wildlife, assists in public safety, etc. etc. Intrusive I guess would be in the eye of the beholder. You know what is laughable about that argument is that for centuries hunters have hit the woods and I know of very few, if any, people who think of hunting as intrusive. Why is it intrusive? If you are a land owner, you certainly have the right to close your land so hunters won’t intrude on your property. I think I know what is intrusive but people never seem to want to come out and say it. It’s intrusive because they don’t like it – period! It doesn’t much matter whether it’s done on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
Hunting is wrong! And why is that? Because it’s wrong to kill? Because it bothers you? Tell me, why is it wrong?
The writer does make an attempt to explain.
Reason one, for many, is the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” The model is that God rested on the seventh day after six days of creating the universe.
Bringing religion into a conversation in this country today holds no water. Few if any people are much interested in remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. Sorry, but truth often times hurts. And what is rest? Watching football games all day? Tail-gating? Shopping at the mall? Fishing? Golf? Going for a ride? Snowmobiling? ATVing? Where can I stop?
The writer asks a question.
So where is the rest or the holiness in gutting, dragging, loading, skinning, and cleaning up after killing a deer?
I would have to resort to the number one wrong thing to do when asked a question – answer a question with a question. So where is the rest or the holiness in watching TV, fishing, golf, shopping, drinking beer, gambling, partying, being in church all day singing and passing the offering plate, snowmobiling, hiking, bird watching, etc. etc.
From here it just goes continuously downhill.
Hunting is often tiring. It takes you away from family, and gunfire disturbs the peace for everyone within earshot.
Sunday hunting would disrupt life for affected game wardens, land managers, neighbors, and churches.
The differences between fishing and hunting are that fishermen are not armed with devices that kill large mammals, make loud blasts, or fire lethal projectiles across private lands.
Also, the already generous Virginia hunting season restricts other activities such as hiking, dog-walking, birding, photography, and biking.
Granted, not everyone holds a Christian worldview, but others benefit from the standard of making Sunday a traditionally slower, quieter day. Let’s keep it that way and drop this idea for good!
In the first sentence of this part, replace the word hunting with any of the above I listed out. That works pretty good.
The writer’s perceptions of life during hunting season are interesting. I wish he would have told us where he lived to be able to say that Sunday hunting disrupts neighbors and churches, etc.
The real laugher is in the fishing hunting comparisons. It’s alright to fish because hooking a fish and killing it is done loudly. And those loud outboard motors don’t bother anyone? Intruding on someone’s land to fish is different than intruding on someone’s land to hunt? The truth comes out here in that the writer doesn’t like guns and fears them. He should just say so.
Then comes the “I can’t go outdoors during hunting season” lament. It’s a heck of a lot more dangerous to drive my car during the Christmas shopping season but I don’t cry about it. I understand it as a necessary part of our greedy economy-minded society, so I assume the risks and get on with life.
If only the writer would have just ended his piece after the fourth paragraph. It would have been just as effective had the writer written one sentence – “I don’t want you to hunt on Sundays because I don’t know what you did with my ax.” One excuse is just as good as another.
In short? All indications from surveys and via the legislature in Virginia that the majority says they don’t want Sunday hunting. It’s time to give it a rest, regroup and decided when and if the next play will be called.
Tom Remington
