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Gun-loving conservatives who love to hate what they perceive to be the liberal American Civil Liberties Union, may find
them to be strange bedfellows, but both have respect for the constitution, said Andrew Schneider, the state group's
executive director.
The ACLU has filed suit in Ritchie County regarding the constitutional right to hunt on private lands on Sunday.
Specifically, the suit seeks to overturn a ban on Sunday hunting approved by Ritchie County voters last year. It would affect
the Sunday ban in 41 West Virginia's counties.
"People who think the ACLU is a liberal organization have a misguided view of what we do. We defend people's rights and
liberties as defined by the constitution," Schneider said. "Sometimes, the rights of the left are being violated, sometimes the
rights of the right are. We don't pick and choose."
ACLU Attorney Jason Huber says the state Constitution ensures the right to hunt on private land any day of the week.
The suit has been filed on behalf of the Hartley Hill Hunt Club, which has about 50 members and leases 2,000 acres in
Ritchie. Huber said that the state has no compelling interest to prevent hunting on private land. "There is no rational
justification for outlawing hunting on Sunday, as opposed to any other day of the week," said Huber.
Religious groups have opposed Sunday hunting much like they opposed the rights of stores to remain open on Sunday
several years ago.
The lawsuit says that individuals cannot be deprived using their property for one day every week, under Article III, Section
22, of the state constitution. The section provides the right to bear arms for "lawful hunting and recreational use."
The suit will likely end up before the state Supreme Court.
The West Virginia Farm Bureau believes differently, that the state has weak trespassing laws with hunters often crossing onto
property without permission. The Bureau says West Virginia's "rural values" have been expressed through overwhelming
votes in opposition to Sunday hunting.
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