Legislation to watch in the Virginia General Assembly

January 15, 2012 · 0 minute read

Every General Assembly session, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries puts together a page on their website with links to proposed legislation of interest to sportsmen. The bills tend to be hunting and fishing related, but many are more broad than that, focusing on everything from boating regulations to blue crab-harvesting jurisdiction. It’s a handy tool for the outdoors inclined.

This session the most contentious issue will almost certainly be Sunday hunting. I wrote about the building momentum — so far three bills have been pre-filed — for a repeal on Virginia’s Sunday hunting ban in today’s Times-Dispatch. Groups like Legalize Sunday Hunting for All and the Virginia Sunday Hunting Coalition have gained traction with the public and, together with national groups like the NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, are exerting more pressure than ever on Virginia lawmakers to repeal the ban. On the other side, birders, horseback riders and the state farm bureau have come out against repealing the ban. It’s an interesting issue and one to watch in the GA over the next month.