SCRANTON - A lawmaker wants to give Pennsylvanians the ability to legally hunt deer and other popular game on Sundays.

State Rep. Ed Staback, D-Lackawanna, is sponsoring a bill that would give the Pennsylvania Game Commission the authority to permit more hunting on that day. Under current state law, only fox, coyote and crow can be hunted on Sunday.

"I think that giving the Game Commission the ability to regulate Sunday hunting would be a giant step in the right direction to stop the decline of hunter numbers in the state," he said.

Permitting full hunting privileges on Sundays would allow people who work during the week to get out more during the weekend, and induce hunters to stay home instead of traveling to neighboring states that don't restrict Sunday hunting, he said.

The measure is likely to face opposition, especially from farmers who want their property left alone for one day a week. The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau said the majority of the 36,000 farmers it represents wants to enjoy their land on Sundays without being bothered by hunters.

Ray Martin, of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen Clubs, which represents about 70,000 hunters, said its members oppose Sunday hunting by 3-1 or 4-1.

"They are concerned that some farms will close their land to hunting," he said. "We need to keep that land open and not close that land."

But Phil Egnotovich, of Richmondale, who has been hunting for more than 50 years, called the ban on most Sunday hunting "ridiculous."

"Sunday hunting is the same thing as people going shopping," he said. "Malls are all open, liquor stores are open. You can do everything on Sunday except for hunting."

Recent proposals to expand Sunday hunting have been shot down. For example, the House Game and Fisheries Committee narrowly rejected a bill that would have permitted Sunday hunting of groundhogs.

Thirty-five states allow hunting on Sundays, including neighboring states such as New York, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia. New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and Massachusetts prohibit it.