Why It Matters: Sunday hunting bans are one of the last remaining examples of the puritanical and antiquated laws that were initially designed to encourage church attendance. At the time when blue law restrictions were first put in place, other activities that were illegal on a Sunday included opening a store for business, drinking alcoholic beverages, and tilling your fields. Access is a major limiting factor hindering participation in hunting, and restrictions on Sunday hunting provide a temporal-access barrier to youth and others that work or attend school throughout the week and are often involved in extra-curricular activities on Saturdays. Maryland’s House Bill 1063 has helped to further chip away at these restrictions.
Highlights:
- NASC Executive Council Secretary and Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair, Sen. Jack Bailey was the Co-Sponsor of this legislation in the Senate (Senate Bill 643). However, ultimately House Bill 1063 (HB 1063) sponsored by Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus member, Del. Regina Boyce, was the final version that was passed and enacted.
- The original version of this legislation included removing the longstanding legislative prohibition on hunting migratory game birds on Sundays, which passed favorably out of the House Environment and Transportation Committee (17 to 3) but was ultimately amended out of the bill on the House Floor by a few Delegates from the Eastern Shore.
- The final version of this legislation expanded hunting hours on Sundays in counties that currently require an end time of 10:30am, removed the time restriction for Wicomico County, and now permits bow hunting for deer during the regulated deer season(s) in Baltimore City.
Maryland currently allows a wide variety of Sunday hunting opportunities, but they consist of a very confusing patchwork of regulations that are determined on a county-by-county basis as well as by game species. This continues to be a barrier for sportsmen and women, but House Bill 1063 (HB 1063) helped in providing some additional opportunities by rolling back another piece of this overly complicated puzzle.
Unfortunately, false claims regarding negative impacts to waterfowl populations trumped the documented experiences of other states that allow Sunday waterfowl hunting and the Sunday migratory game bird hunting provision was ultimately amended out of the bill prior to final passage.
From CSF’s perspective, the appropriate fix for this convoluted monstrosity of hunting regulations (88 lines of statute on Sunday Hunting alone) would be to remove the legislative prohibition all together, similar to what Pennsylvania did in 2025, and give full regulatory authority over hunting season dates and bag limits to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) like they currently have for the other 6 days of the week (Monday – Saturday).
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) applauds both bill sponsors for their tireless efforts throughout this entire legislative process and congratulates Delegate Regina Boyce on the final passage and enactment of this important piece of legislation. We look forward to continuing to fight for access and opportunity for sportsmen and women, and also for sound science-based wildlife management in the “Old-Line State”.
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