Sunday hunting on spring 2014 ballot.
West Virginia
The time is now for Sunday hunting in West Virginia. Archaic "blue laws" from the 1700's have kept sportsmen from enjoying the outdoors on Sundays on private property. West Virginia is one of the few states in the nation that has restrictions on Sunday hunting. 43 states have little or no restrictions on Sunday hunting. Sunday hunting would be good for the economy of West Virginia. In a recent economic inpact study on eliminating Sunday hunting bans in West Virginia, it was determined that Sunday hunting would add approximately 156 million to the state's economy.
Sunday hunting will not keep people out of church. It is very much acceptable to hunt before or after church. The 43 states allowing Sunday hunting have not seen any decrease in church attendance and their citizens should be seen just as religious as the citizens whose state's banning Sunday hunting. Plus we have a seperation of church and state given to us by our constitution. Seven day Adventist see Saturday as the sabbath.
Sunday is a day of rest. In today's world we can work, shop at almost every store, buy alcohol, or go to a multitude of sporting events on Sunday. Unfortunately, animals do not know a day of rest, or are they even aware of the days of the week. Predators still hunt prey on Sunday. Animals still know hunger and deer still dodge cars to avoid collisions on Sunday. Their is no day of rest for wildlife.
Sunday hunting is for private land only and only with written permission. Individuals still have the choice to decide if hunting is allowed on their land. Sunday hunting will not apply to public land such as national or state forests. Fortunately, with sunday hunting rights, individuals will no longer be forbidden to do what they choose on their own land on Sundays.
I am trying to get a unified effort from the NWTF, WVBA, and the WV bear hunters association to get this going. The next edition of WVsportsman will have an article about Sunday hunting. An interview is airing with WV Metronews Outddors with Chris Lawrence this weekend.
Sunday hunting can be put on the ballot for spring 2014 if 5% of the registered voters in a county sign a petition to lift the ban. Currently, petitions are throughout counties in West Virginia. If you are interested in getting Sunday hunting rights your county , please contact me for an organized petition drive in your county.
Thank you.
Cory Boothe [email protected] (304) 872-0087 Runa, WV
thank you for your work on this. The last thing I need is another project but I might be interested in taking this on in my county. I will be in touch.
we already have Sunday hunting in Jefferson county
Yes, and I hope the other 41 counties get Sunday hunting as well. Currently 14 counties have Sunday hunting. Most of them never went to the ballot in 2002.
But until you take it out of each counties hands and make it a statewide thing then each county will have to vote on it. I think all counties would vote against it if it was brought up again.
Info sent to your email. God Bless
It will not pass statewide. I'm actually happy its a county by county law now. Easier to get the rights for small, rural counties. It will be real difficult to get it to pass in more urban counties such as Kanawha, Cabell, Monongalia, and so on.
I would like for the state to pony up and make it legal on all public lands. Lands in which our tax dollars pay for.
Problem is most people do not live in the county that they hunt. A lot of people that own land that they hunt live in anohter county. I live in Pleasants and hunt in Tyler. How would I be able to vote?
That's what upset me in the first place. I live in Kanawha county, but own and pay taxes on land in Monroe land, but was unable to vote there. Now, somebody that lived in apartment and owned no property could vote and deny me the privlege to hunt on land that I bought and pay taxes on. It was a major xxxxup by the state legislature. The problem is once those codes are opened up its hard to tell what they may stick in there. A amendment to legalize crossbows during archery season or any of a number of other problems could be inserted. I''ll be the first to admit that I'd like Sunday hunting, but you have to be careful when you open Pandora's box cause you don't know what might result from it.
I hope it becomes legal to hunt on Sundays. It will give all of us a chance to catch up with the "First Of The Month Club" hunters. They get to hunt all season while the rest of us that work buy their supplies. I dont understand the resons why it is illegal now and definitely hope it changes.
James
Same here. Live in Wood but own land in Gilmer. How can that be addressed?
Mudflap, that is the first time I've ever heard of the "First of the Month Club" hunter. That's hilarious, yet sad that we have to pay their dues.
As I understand it, the option to allow counties to vote on the issue was added near the end of the session. It is in the top 5 of the stupidest laws they have ever passed.
I don't think there is any way to get past the problem of living in one county and owning property in another. You can only be registered to vote in one county. It is totally unfair, and an insult to landowners. I have no choice but to pay property taxes to Monroe county, yet someone that pays no taxes can vote and tell me what I can and can't do on my own property. There has to be some form of taxation without representation involved with that.
Same for where my property is in Pendleton County. I just come home and hunt Sunday's where I live in Jefferson county
I think it is unconstitutional as it allows some landowners to hunt in the state and not others .
Plus I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night :)
But I have given up on it here in Putnam county, so I fish Sundays now .
I'd say 50% of the folks that don't post here will be against it! :>( I just don't understand why or when the "blue laws" were done away with why didn't sunday hunting follow suit. I just don't get how you can buy beer, gamble, go to a strip club on Sundays but you can't hunt! I saw some of my best friends be against this saying deer needed a day of rest and it was a day to go to church. Funny thing is they went to church but went out ot eat after church. Don't they think those folks cooking and serving them needed a day of rest? It's a OLD tradition and will be hard to change. Sure wish it wasn't but plan hard fact is this state is 20 years behind EVERY one in the world. Thats a good thing when the rapture does come we have 20 years to get ready! lol tongue in cheek.
I think you better check, instead of 5% , it's 20% of the total # of registered voters that voted in the previous election to get the county commissioners to consider putting it back on the ballot. That's what I've been told by a reliable source.
Chapter 20 Article 2 Section 5 (27) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue with firearms or other implement which wildlife can be taken, on private lands on Sunday after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian: Provided, That the provisions of this subdivision do not apply in any county until the county commission of the county holds an election on the question of whether the provisions of this subdivision prohibiting hunting on Sunday shall apply within the county and the voters approve the allowance of hunting on Sunday in the county. The election is determined by a vote of the resident voters of the county in which the hunting on Sunday is proposed to be authorized. The county commission of the county in which Sunday hunting is proposed shall give notice to the public of the election by publication of the notice as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for the publication is the county in which the election is to be held. The date of the last publication of the notice shall fall on a date within the period of the fourteen consecutive days next preceding the election.
On the local option election ballot shall be printed the following:
Shall hunting on Sunday be authorized in ________ County?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
Any local option election to approve or disapprove of the proposed authorization of Sunday hunting within a county shall be in accordance with procedures adopted by the commission. The local option election may be held in conjunction with a primary or general election or at a special election. Approval shall be by a majority of the voters casting votes on the question of approval or disapproval of Sunday hunting at the election.
If a majority votes against allowing Sunday hunting, no election on the issue may be held for a period of one hundred four weeks. If a majority votes "yes," no election reconsidering the action may be held for a period of five years. A local option election may thereafter be held if a written petition of qualified voters residing within the county equal to at least five percent of the number of persons who were registered to vote in the next preceding general election is received by the county commission of the county in which Sunday hunting is authorized. The petition may be in any number of counterparts. The election shall take place at the next primary or general election scheduled more than ninety days following receipt by the county commission of the petition required by this subsection: Provided, That the issue may not be placed on the ballot until all statutory notice requirements have been met. No local law or regulation providing any penalty, disability, restriction, regulation or prohibition of Sunday hunting may be enacted and the provisions of this article preempt all regulations, rules, ordinances and laws of any county or municipality in conflict with this subdivision;
Ok, it is 5 % not 20%, that is a smaller hurdle.
Still a very uphill battle. Remember how overwhelmingly it was defeated the first time. And if something causes the 14 counties that currently enjoy this to lose it the people in those counties are going to be irate.
This really shouldn't be a ballot issue. The legislature needs to take responsibility for making the laws, otherwise why don't we have different speed limits for each county, etc., etc.
The general public should not be voting on wildlife management issues.
In my opinion the best solution would be to get your Senator or Delegate to introduce a new bill that would make bowhunting legal on Sundays (for a start). Then the arguments about shots being fired thru church walls and interruption to the peace and quiet would be eliminated. However, getting a politician to touch this with the way the public voted it down is not likely to happen. They are just going to say the people in my district already voiced their opinions on this.
The vote was 11 years ago. The way the law was written it is a ballot issue. I'm not a fan, but I believe it might be the best way.
Counties with Sunday hunting cannot have it brought back up for 5 years.
I think that if the counties that have it voted again it would fail. The anti hunters outnumber us. Plain and simple. Where I live they would vote against hunting on any day.
So it could be brought up either way.
11 years in 14 Counties and ZERO incidents - that much is good ammunition. The general public doesn't even know it's happening. They didn't know we had it for one year before it was on the ballot either and it still went down in flames.
It is just very hard to educate the general public to vote for the measure. It will take a major public education campaign and that will cost a lot of money. You need to get Sportsman's Alliance to help and NRA, but I think NRA might be a little busy this year on other things if you know what I mean.
Why does it have to be put on a bollot anyway? The legislature does not put on the ballot game seasons and limits or regulations.
I do not ever remember voting for the opening day or areas of catch an release waters ect............
Sunday hunting required a change in the "code". Season dates and limits are set by the Commissioners. Just the way the laws and regulations were set up.
Again, and this is just my opinion, the best way to fix this is by getting that section of code changed by getting the legislature to pass a new bill that takes out the county voting requirement.
They could do it. They change laws all the time. Getting them to do so on this one well...we might have a better chance of getting a 2 buck limit.
Where'd that dead horse get 'oft to anyway? LOL!
What Saxon said. Bingo. If the government wanted to ban Sunday hunting they could . Or they could allow it. Plain and simple. One old guy in Pendleton county told me that the landowners there all hunt on their own land anyway if they choose. He told me they have done that for years even before it was ever voted on. Did the 14 counties that allow Sunday hunting decide it was just allowed on private land? Why didn't it include public land? I bet the government had a say in that.
Little Bear is exactly right. The code could be changed if the legislature wanted to. Why do we have to have no hunters and anti hunters vote on it? Do they vote on the season bag limits or dates of the seasons? Makes no since. Who voted on Sunday fishing?
Something like this should be adapted for WV.
New Jersey did it and it passed overwhelming.
Here's another link to an old Bowsite thread on a synopsis of what New Jersey did.
little bears idea has a better chance of making it happen...if the state of New Jersey can pass it we sure can due to the more rural areas...time to make phone calls and pass word
Guys, I'm for all forms of hunting on Sunday in West Virginia, not just bowhunting. I'm doing the best I can and taking initiative to do this.
The farm bureau pressured the legislators into the law being written this way. Gus Douglas knew the best way to make it difficult. The truth is if nobody wants to support this how are you going to get enough support for our legislators to back this?
I am also in contact with individuals about making Sunday hunting legal on all public land in WV. It will take an organized grass roots effort to get anything changed with Sunday hunting in WV.
I think that if you just attempt to make it legal for one type of hunting you will be losing the support of hundreds possibly thousands. This should be a joint venture between all hunters. This is another one of those topics that divides people for some crazy reason. My personal belief is if you dont like something then dont do it. It seems to be the belief of others that if they dont like something they need to pass a law to keep everyone else from doing it. I dont like the store Bed, Bath and Beyond but I am not protesting them every day or trying to pass a bill to have them all shut down. I just simply dont go to Bed, Bath and Beyond. If you dont like hunting on Sundays...Then Don't. Let the people who do like it be able to go. Man that feels better, Hoppy knows what he is talking about on Steam Release Friday.
James
If you are going to go about this the way the law is currently written, do you have a list of how many registered voters are in each county and have you selected what rural county to start with?
When I looked at this years ago it seemed that Taylor or Wirt might be good ones to start with.
It needs to be all hunters as one united endeavor.
I have the numbers for all 41 counties that do not have Sunday hunting. I have the numbers at home.
Wirt is around 230 for a petition. Taylor is more. Nicholas is around 800. Fayette is around 1000. I can publish them at a later time.
I'm targeting Calhoun, Gilmer, Wirt, Nicholas,Randolph,and Webster myself.I'm doing very well with signatures and publicity so far.
I hope you are verifying the people who are signing the petition are registered to vote. If someone signs who isn't registered that signature won't count and the petition can be challenged.
It wouldn't be very good to show up at Wirt County Commission with 250 signatures and 200 of them not be valid.
I wonder if the County Commission would accept the use of an on-line petition?
I would be willing to work with Monroe county if you can get me the info.
I was told that we have always had Sunday hunting because the counties that have it never had it put on the ballot to vote on. Which means that the legislatures had to vote at one time to have Sunday hunting. So they can pass laws to have Sunday hunting. Not sure where the vote comes in then.
So the way I read this is that the legislatures are against Sunday hunting
The counties that have it now, never put it up for vote. The county commissioners had a choice to put it up for vote or not. When they voted on it instead of just saying yes or no. They said yes, but each county can decide to vote yes or no. That should have never been put in there. That's the problem with the legislature, once a bill is open they can't leave well enough alone. They just can't help themselves from fiddling with it
So how did the original 14 counties get it?
When the bill was passed it was state-wide and all counties were open. The counties had an option to put it on the ballot at the next election if they wanted to. 14 Counties chose not to. Those 14 counties still have it.
The rest of the counties that put it on the ballot lost it.
I don't think I can make it any clearer than that.
Barbour 478 Berkeley 3346 Braxton 436 Cabell 3026 Calhoun 283 Doddridge 242 Fayette 1333 Gilmer 240 Grant 404 Greenbrier 1270 Hampshire 713 Hardy 438 Harrison 2195 Jackson 1075 Kanawha 6663 Lewis 453 Marion 2090 Mason 946 Mercer 1957 Mineral 865 Monongalia 2792 Monroe 496 Morgan 584 Nicholas 823 Pendleton 277 Pleasants 258 Pocohontas 255 Preston 972 Putnam 1814 Raleigh 2755 Randolph 917 Ritchie 354 Roane 498 Summers 461 Taylor 516 Tucker 263 Tyler 307 Upshur 704 Webster 311 Wirt 217 Wood 2729
These are the signatures needed per county. I've done my homework guys.
Monongalia 2792 Thats why I just buy my Ohio license! Good luck with your dreams but your beating a dead horse in my opinion.
Monongalia 2792 Thats why I just buy my Ohio license! Good luck with your dreams but your beating a dead horse in my opinion.
One final thought did they vote on video lottery or scratch off tickets by county? Just a thought your only hope is to spend tons of moneys on good, REALLY good lawyers and get it ruled unconstiutional.
Their is a difference between beating a dead horse and just talking about it hoping it comes back to life. I'm a sportsman that's tired of not having rights and am going through the legal avenue set before me to get a right back.
For anyones info, in around a week I have almost locked up putting Sunday Hunting on the ballot in two counties. Hopefully, others follow the cause instead of just seeing it as lost.
Seriously, guys? The man is taking his time to work on something to benefit us all. Who cares if his chances of success are slim to none. What is it off of your back to offer up your signature to support him? Eor would be proud of this thread.
That is the answer I was looking for Lil Bear. So I am not the smartest guy in the world but why doesn't the legislature just pass a law statewide like they did originally if they wanted Sunday hunting? I know they can do it. Why let the nonhunters and anti's in the counties vote for it. I personally know a ton of hunters that didnt vote. Of course that is on them.
well I would be interested to know why the legislators just don't make a law and pass it. They can. There is a reason why. Guys can fish on Sunday. Did they vote on that county by county. I bet not.
The legislature would have to grow some, Babysaph. Once the counties vote happened and Sunday hunting was shot down in certain parts of the state many of our elected officials stepped back for fear of losing votes by supporting it. It is such a shame that politics are part of this process.
The legislature would have to grow some, Babysaph. Once the counties vote happened and Sunday hunting was shot down in certain parts of the state many of our elected officials stepped back for fear of losing votes by supporting it. It is such a shame that politics are part of this process.
You can say that again wvmule.
Oh wait, I guess you already did. LOL.
Dang double posts but it was worth repeating. See you tomorrow, Little Bear.
Here is the bottom lines:
1)LITTLE BEAR HAS THE ANSWER - GET THE LAW CHANGED IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET SUNDAY HUNTING
2)I will give my signature
3) I have discussed this at length with people in the community
4) Heck 51% or more hunters are against this ( don't you remember the fights on here) you will almost be called a atheist by fellow hunters .
5) Our career politicians will never introduce a SUNDAY hunting law - too controversial.
6) Come to my county -PUTNAM - I bet you can't get half of the signatures . If someone single handily gets the signatures and gets it on the ballot I will buy them a new bow of their choice . Plus I will stand on street corners down here with a sign on me before the election .
7) I'll fish Sunday afternoons until then .I'm not being negative ,I'm being a realist . Good luck and God bless .
So we have to get signatures to vote on it. In other words vote to vote on it. Why do they allow fishing on sundays? I am serious. What is the difference as far as the church goes if that is the reason for not allowing it.
I don't remember voting on the blue laws years ago when they decided that stores could be open on Sunday. Have always been able to fish on Sunday, play golf on Sunday, go to a shooting range, hit the bars after early afternoonl, but not hunt doesn't make much sinse to me.
Me either mountsin william
Pretty sure it is the church community that is the foe, not anti-hunters.
Guys. Its a FACT it must be put on the ballot. No real other way. Its a fact it will take effort. Moreso, in Putnam and urban counties than more rural counties.
BTW, I was on WVmetronews Saturday morning, donated about 10 hours at a gunshow collecting signatures, and set up an infomercial opportun9ity for Summerasville tv. If we get sportsmen to put effort into it, we can do this.
PassThrough - I don't think the church community is the foe you have to worry about. It's the general non-hunting public that doesn't understand the issue.
Ever heard of the 10-10-80 rule? 10% hunt, 10% anti-hunting and 80% don't care either way but they are the ones that will control wether we hunt or not when things like this are on ballots.
Also, if you read the above posts real close, you'll see a correct statement that the Farm Bureau was against this as well, which really makes no sense whatsoever. They wanted a law to remain that would prevent their own members from doing what they wanted on their own private property.
Corey is right, if you want to get it back it has to go on a ballot UNLESS you can get the legislature to throw out the old law and write a new one. But as Jack pointed out in #5 - good luck with that.
Then why don't try complain about fishing on Sundays?
Corey good luck and I hope you get it passed in several counties .
As stated above fellow hunters are against it for many many reasons , none have teeth to them . But that is another issue .
If someone gets it started in Putnam I'll give it a solid day of whatever they need just to show where I stand on the issue .
Thanks for your effort Jack
Check out the facebook page "Sunday hunting in West Virginia." It has a link for downloadable petitions for each county. The best way is to go to area businesses with a clipboard and forms. Please make sure they are legible or they do not count.
I will be at the huntshow collecting signatures this weekend.
For your information, I am right at having enough signatures for it to be in the ballot in 3 counties right now.
Jack,
Send your email to [email protected] and you will have a petition.
I can help out in Putnam Co ....Let meknow where you have already been ...
In 34 years as outdoor editor at the Cumberland Times-News, I have written a couple million words in favor of Sunday hunting, give or take 100,000. When I get an objection from a West Virginia reader it is always based upon religious reasoning. That's why I mentioned the church opposition. My column this coming Sunday (Jan. 20) will be about Cory's efforts.
but passthrough why don't these same people complain about fishing on Sunday"s. I am not sure I understand their reasoning.
Neither do I: or swimming, boating, shooting pool, watching a movie, kicking a football, and on and on and on. Hunters are the most discriminated against group on Sundays. It's going to change, but I'm 66 and I'd like to see it change sooner than later.
Like I have told several people "I would rather be in a tree stand thinking about God than in chucrch thinking about hunting."
I hope you guys are successful—I really do.
Call me cynical, but I don’t see Sunday hunting ever receiving a majority vote in any county.
Prior to the election, the one where my neighbors took Sunday hunting away from me, I was in the local bank and the tellers were discussing the deplorable notion of hunting on Sunday. I asked the teller (they all were listening) why she was opposed to Sunday hunting. She said, “Well… what if I wanted to take my children on walk in the woods on Sunday?” I asked her when the last time she took the kids on a Sunday hike in November or December? She turned red. I asked her if she had any issues the year prior. She said, “Well… of course not.” I then informed her Sunday hunting was already legal. She turned blue, and as I recall something was said about bullets flying threw the church windows.
To my mind, the ONLY way to EVER get Sunday hunting back is to lobby the legislators (not the electorate) to change the laws. I fear you are about to take on a huge but futile effort, or worse, educate the residents of 14 counties how easily Sunday hunting could be stopped in their counties.
You are right Jim. The legislators have to do it.
Well guys, I promise you the legislators will be more willing to address the issue when thousands of people have signed a petition in their county and their is a statewide push for Sunday hunting.
I promise you their will not be any interest by the legislator when a handful of people on the internet say it cannot be done and nobody is pushing the issue because of the naysayers. This is all about awareness by the general public and getting sportsmen unites.
I don't want to come of as rude but I am taking a stand. For your information, in less than two weeks I have all but wrapped up having enough signatures to be on the ballot in three counties. So please join with me in this statewide effort.
I will be at the hunt show collecting signatures at the Adventures on the Gorge booth. Please come by and take a few minutes to sign a petition. Thanks guys.
Well now… I don’t think you’re rude, but I do remember how overwhelmingly the electorate rejected Sunday hunting in every county. Just a couple more thoughts…
1) What’s changed since then? 2) If you’re successful getting it on the ballot in several counties, and if it fails again, when will the legislature be willing to even consider overriding the clear “will of the people” on this issue?
I commend your passion, but think your efforts are misdirected. I also wish you success, and hope you have the opportunity to serve me a huge dinner of crow.
One county has put it back on the ballot. It passed with an overwhelming majority in Wetzel County.
Times have changed, awareness, work weeks, family dynamics all have chaged since then. Moreso thatn anything we are voting to gain a right not lose one. Hunters will show up this time when they didn't in 2002.
I don't think it will pass in kanawha or urban counties, but I believe it will in most rural counties.
Should I stand corrected? Perhaps you can give me some dates and numbers for the Wetzel County vote? I just spoke with the Wetzel County Clerk, and she said it had never been placed on the ballot there.
What do they have against hunters that they don't have against fisherman?
"What do they have against hunters that they don't have against fisherman?"
JMO...I think the reasoning back in the day when Sunday hunting was outlawed. Was the mind thinking of being in church and hearing "BOOM!" and fishing being silent....................
IF that is the reasoning; then we should be able to bow hunt.....8^)
I was told it was lobbied for and successfully reinstated in Wetzel County. I very well could have received untrue information.
BTW, only 32% of registered voters cast a ballot in the spring 2002 election.
Copied from the Officer Clyde website. No it was not on the ballot in Wetzel, but yes democracy rang true to keep it off the ballot in 2002.
To Officer Clyde and those who want to hunt on Sunday: The Wetzel County Commissioner Meeting was held today. The Sunday hunting issue was brought up and will NOT be placed on the ballot this November. There was a petition signed by 288 residents of Wetzel county asking for the issue to be placed on the ballot. There also was a petition signed by 1860 residents asking for the issue NOT to be placed on the ballot. Because of this, a motion was made to put it on the ballot, but the motion died for lack of a second. This means that it could be placed on the ballot when the next election is held, if the county commissioners vote to do so. This is just to let those know, Wezel county will not go down without a fight if the issue is brought up again. I hope this sends a clear message to all the other counties that still allow sunday hunting. Good Luck to all the other counties. Thanks Clyde for letting me use your forum, Mike
Jim I will join you in eating crow if it passes in Putnam county by public vote . I would LOVE to eat that crow .
But I don't see it happening . As I stated previously the only way is to get the law changed !
The last time I checked no war was ever won without a fight! Dont let a few pessimists on here bring you down. Thanks for all your doing Corey."FIGHT ON!"
So today I was interviewed for an article which will be in the Sunday Gazette, organized a drive for Braxton County, and the facebook page has 300 members in 3 days. "FIGHT ON!"
I'm truly sorry you took my posting as negative. I wholly support your initiative but in reality your going about it all wrong for any hope of succeeding. To vote on anything county wide is disaster. Case in point is evident Wtetzel county! So where did the petion come from opposing it? I'd ask to see the petiton and see if it was verified. Don't' matter it's bull shmit! Anyhow locally the Farm Bearu DID NOT ENDORSE IT and there in lies your problem. The local head of FB was also a County commsioner and stated publically he would NEVER allow sunday hunting!Reality is there are 2 full time farmers in my county and I'll bet statewide thats the average. And those two full time farmers are retired from other jobs.
Money talks, your best bet is asking for a petition of asking how man hunters buy out of state license and WHY! Maybe they will listen when they realize alot of hunters are buying out of state license to hunt bigger bucks and to hunt sundays! Me included. With that said I hope you win and I'll be the first to sit down and eat crow with the rest.
Individual counties approving the measure is the only option we have due to the way the code is written. Lawmakers won't change anything without support and that is what I am getting. Its time for action and change.
Ironic that most of the people saying it can't be done haven't contacted me on getting it done. This is the best option for all sportsmen of West Virginia.
Why are farmers against it? I thought they emanated dead deer
Farmers speak out of both sides of their mouth. They hate deer but you can't kill them on their land or on Sunday.
And honestly, a few bad apples have given farmers a sour taste for hunters. its not the majoirity, but their actions speak louder than the law abiding citizens.
Wanted not emanated . Lol
Dr. J.R., there's an edit button just above the red alert button on your posts.
Quote" Ironic that most of the people saying it can't be done haven't contacted me on getting it done. This is the best option for all sportsmen of West Virginia" End quote:
Bub, let me tell ya a little about myself. I've worked two to three jobs every week my entire life. Probably logged more working hours than you've been alive!! During that time I've donated THOUSANDS of hours and THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to non profit organizations including WV state hunting associations, built my own house, raised two girls and put them through college AND using my skilled labor worked for TONS of senior citizens for hours on hours supplying labor and materials when my only pay was a bag of apples. And yes for the record the apple pie was sweet but.
I'm just telling you that to tell yout this, one thing I've learned in life and one thing you need to learn, is to pick your battles. Your battle is a dead end. PERIOD. Voting on Sunday hunting per county is a dead end. Sorry to bust your bubble but it's a DEAD END! You might win one county but loose three you already had. It's like two wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner. You stand a better chance getting owls and hawks taken off the protected species list voting by county. God only knows what every sportsman knows we have way to many of them but it's a federal law you can't control them even if they are taking every chicken out of your yard. Not to mention the effect they have on wildlife left uncontrolled.
Now your only hope is to collect money for the purpose of hiring a lawyer and legally making the change by the state constitution. Have your paper work in hand showing how many hunters are leaving the state to hunt other states, lost revenue which is HUGE, statisics of surronding states where it's legal and zero reports of problems with Sunday hunting,statistics of deer car collosions being in the top 5 of the US, etc. What I wouldn't give them is the recent numbers of attempting to put it on a ballot in Wetzel county! Have the money put in a trust fund at a bank and I'll donate. I've been in high level meetings many years in the past concerning this. Now the problem is getting a GOOD LAWYER. Lawyers are like plumbers, electricians and doctors. Theres screwed up ones,so so ones, good ones and REALLY good ones. You need to find one REALLY REALLY good one that hunts. We had one but he still was going to charge us a godly amount! What he did say it was a VERY win able fight. So much for helping for the cause. Of course we didn't have the money to hire him. Good luck in your endevour.
I'm 35. I have three jobs myself. I'm not content to lie down and take not being able to hunt on Sunday. If nobody has money for the lawyer, this is our best option. I'm positive it will win in some, but not all, rural counties. You don't know unless you try and I am trying.
I'm glad to see an effort being made. It is better than not making one. If this project adds any counties to the Sunday ledger it is a success. If it is not successful, it will at the minimum be a stepping stone for whomever tries it next. Go for it. Here is another option I have never seen explored in W.Va., but maybe somebody else knows more about it than I do. In Maryland, all Sunday hunting that exists (and it is growing yearly) comes from bills being passed in the General Assembly on county-by-county basis. Legislators have an approach that if their fellow politicians want something for their county such as a couple Sundays to hunt, then that's OK. After all, they may want something for their county sometime. It has created a real hodgepodge of regulations. One county has this many Sundays for deer hunting. That other county has fewer or more or at different times. Yet another county offers spring gobbler hunting on private land and public land on two Sundays, but another one offers every Sunday in spring gobbler, but just on private lands. Still, its better than when we had zero Sunday hunting in the state.
I walked around the hunt show twice today but couldn't find a booth where anyone had a petition. Maybe I just overlooked it.
Not sure how you would lse 3 counties. The counties that already have hunting are not voting again
Babysaph, it's the stirring the hornets nest theory.
Lets just say hypothetically in the next election 12 counties get Sunday hunting put on the ballot next year. Lets assume the minority of folks that do actually vote are still of the same mindset give or take a percentage point. Like mentioned by several others above sadly a vast majority of hunters are against this, hunter numbers are dropping, then you have church groups, tree huggers,soccer moms, Farm bureau, etc. Lets say you win 2 counties.
I'm not a betting man but I bet the headlines of every newspaper and every TV news channel would state "WV overwhelming oppose Sunday hunting!" You would have to listen to the very end to hear that two counties approved it and some already had it. Now you have up to date factual info of how the "majority" of WV's feel about Sunday hunting. Now try approaching your State leg or Congressman or woman telling them you want the law changed? Good luck.
So now you have it in the fore front of the news. And even though to the best of my knowledge theres never been a single problem with Sunday hunting in the counties that have it already all it takes is ONE person to get a petition to have it put back on the ballot to STOP Sunday hunting. Don't think that would happen? You haven't been watching the trends or the mindset going on in America right now. Case in point if I'm reading it right as soon as someone in Wetzel county heard there was a petition to put it back on the ballot someone had a petition against it by a LARGE MARGIN.
Just being a devils advocate here. If anyone purposes a idea he or she should atleast consider the end results of it not going the way they thought.
Again I truly hope I'm wrong about this but sometimes doing something wrong with good intentions is worse than doing nothing.
I thought a bunch of signatures were needed to put it on the ballot
For the counties that never voted on it all it would take is for the county Commissioneers to decide to put it on the ballot. Because they never put it on, they don't need a petition to decide to. Economically it wouldn't make sense because of all the weekend hunters spending money in their county. But who knows?
Quote "I thought a bunch of signatures were needed to put it on the ballot" end quote.
No a minumal amount was set as per population BUT if a larger amount opposed it then you have Wetzel county!
I think it's funny that SEVERAL high ranking "officials" of the LL club are reading through this but no one has replied. This post ought to bring them out. lol
I do feel sorry for the person starting this drive. Seriously. In reality he,she was coming on here expecting full support. Sad fact is there is no support for this other than the die hard hunters ill informed on the way it was drew up! His or hers intentions were honorable just mis directed.
HARP,
WETZEL COUNTY HAS SUNDAY HUNTING!!!!! In 2002, 288 citizens asked for sunday hunting to be put on the ballot. 1860 asked for it to not be placed on the ballot. What that means is they got to KEEP Sunday hunting because it was not put on the ballot. For everyone who wanted Sunday hunting on the ballot in Wetzel, 6 sportsman said no it shouldn't be on the ballot so they could keep Sunday hunting. They petitioned to not put in on the ballot like the 13 other counties that kept it.
Gobbler,
Will be there Saturday. Getting off work at 4 and a two hour drive isn't conductive to Friday at the hunt show.
Don't feel sorry for me. I plan on hunting on Sunday soon.
Keep up the good fight sundaynwv...cant win unless you try.....good job
I think the county by county approach may be the best way to try. It will be TOUGH to do. But it the legislature opens that code to rework it who knows what else they might add to it. We might get Sunday hunting but lose or add something that is worse.
Here is my column. Hope it helps a little.
Thanks Mike! The word is getting out and support is strong. Made some excellent contacts this weekend.
Guys I talked to in Pendleton county say they don't care if we get Sunday hunting since they already hunt on Sunday if they want to
They better hope their commissioners never vote to put it on the county-wide ballot.
Pendleton was one of the counties where Sunday was voted no.
Got around 250 signatures on Saturday at the hunt show.Not bad for a guy that had a piece of posterboard at someone else's booth. Made some great contacts and got petitions in some sports shops. Distributed petitions to Webster County today.
Every journey starts with a first step. Go get 'em.
Gonna be in Roane, Tucker, Braxton,and Hampshire County newspapers plus the Beckley Register Herald. Thanks guys!
Check out the Beckley newspaper today. The word is out!
I got on the newspaper's website and searched it thoroughly, but could not find any article about Sunday hunting. Can you provide a link? Thanks.
Should be Clint Ferguson's article.
How is the Sunday hunting coming?
Very well in certain counties. Senate bill stalled out. Think we just secured Webster County.
Just an update to let people know this effort is going very well.
The entirity of this thread shows the value of believing in something and working hard toward a goal. Looking forward to your dedication paying off next year as hunters earn a right they deserve. Keep up the good work. Much admiration, man!
For everyone information Braxton, Calhoun, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Webster, and Wirt will be on the ballot for the May 13th. We could have secured many, many more counties but these counties are adjacent and are covered by the same advertisers. This is a strategy.
If you live in one of these counties pklan on voting. If you are not registered please do so. Thank you.
Lets get this thing rolling.......Hopefully just a start of every county getting on board.
Good job but as I understand it even if you get the signatures they still vote among the commissioners to put it on the ballot ? Is that correct ?
I was told that if they got enough signatures , based on a percentage of how many voting the last time the Commissioneers had to per state law put it on the ballot. That's what I told
After it was voted on, I beleive you had to wait 5 years then collect at least 10% of the number of voters that voted the first time on it then present it to the county commission and they have to put it on the ballot per state law. I might be wrong about the 10%. Counties that didn't vote on it and have Sunday have no obligation to it it on ballot. Only ones that voted against it and have enough people on a petino are required to.
At least that's the way I understand it
Well if the commissioners can vote on it then why would you need signatures?
If you have the valid signatures needed the commissioners must place it on the ballot. Its part of the political process to go through the commission. Originally, in 2002, commissioners themselves could decide if it went to the ballot or not because it had never been on ballot. However, in 2002, if 5% of registered voters signed a petition wanting it on the ballot, then that commission would be bound to do so.
That is great. Thanks for all the work. So all I need is 5% of voters in Pendleton County?
Pendleton only needs 277 valid signatures. Let's see how the primary goes and maybe go after Pendleton the next round.
Ok, I will see what I can do there.
Message me about Pendleton. I don't want to start anything until after the May primary, but I already have some contacts for Pendleton.
I just wanted to thank harp and others for giving me motivational tidbits such as these.
I wholly support your initiative but in reality your going about it all wrong for any hope of succeeding. To vote on anything county wide is disaster
Your battle is a dead end. PERIOD. Voting on Sunday hunting per county is a dead end. Sorry to bust your bubble but it's a DEAD END!
Now you have up to date factual info of how the "majority" of WV's feel about Sunday hunting.
Again I truly hope I'm wrong about this but sometimes doing something wrong with good intentions is worse than doing nothing
I do feel sorry for the person starting this drive. Seriously. In reality he,she was coming on here expecting full support. Sad fact is there is no support for this other than the die hard hunters ill informed on the way it was drew up! His or hers intentions were honorable just mis directed.
Bub, let me tell you a little something about myself, I've been waiting over a year to prove you wrong about this. Thanks.
I want to thank the WVBA and especially Jeromy Rose for helping the cause.
Boom, lots have changed.
Monongalia is added
ahhh.....the crow that had to be eaten from this page.......LOL
Just shows, little bit here and there and big changes can happen.
Now, on to all counties being open and for 1 and done...ha ha...one can hope cant he.
"Bub, let me tell you a little something about myself, I've been waiting over a year to prove you wrong about this. Thanks."
Cory, that's priceless. Thanks again and God Bless
this thread is always a good motivational read. Proud of what you have accomplished for so many sportsmen in WV, Cory.
Boom, down goes the state??
Thanks for the motivation.
Thank you Cory for your efforts.
I love going back and re-reading this thread.........Good stuff...
You the man cory......
My how times have changed.
