Maine has recently shot down the chance at participating in hunting on Sunday once again. In a landslide vote of 29 to 4 the senate voted no. On Wednesday the house voted 112-28 against Sunday hunting.

Those who oppose Sunday hunting are cheering and happy at this outcome. What about the guy that has to work 6 days a week to make ends meet for his family? Sunday may be his only day to hunt. Is that fair to him? On the flip side what about those who love to go horseback riding, hiking, taking family walks through the woods, or bird watchers. Do these people deserve one day of the week they can feel “safe” in the woods?

It is easy to see both sides of the coin. As with any argument both sides have valid points as well as invalid points. Like I don’t believe there is a great concern for what one person called “unsafe feeling from stray bullets or arrows”. I can however understand the feeling of a family wanting to participate in an outdoor activity without running into a bunch of hunters. What about the extra money that Sunday would bring in. More licenses sold, people from “away” coming up for hunting opportunities, the extra groceries and gas needed for a weekend at camp, and plenty of extra money spent here and there.

Here are some facts about Sunday hunting in Maine put out in a by the Humane Society:

There are 520,000 Maine residents who participate in wildlife watching, and only 123,000 hunters.

Surveys conducted by independent firms for the Wildlife Alliance of Maine found that three quarters of Maine residents support the current ban on Sunday hunting.

Some hunting groups and the Maine Farm Bureau opposed the bill.

Attempts have been made to overturn the state’s Sunday hunting ban nearly every year for the past thirty years with no change in the “blue” law.

Last year, Governor John Baldacci unsuccessfully attempted to include Sunday hunting in his budget.

Sunday hunting has been banned in Maine since the 1880s.

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