It seems Sunday hunting is not just a sticky issue in Pennsylvania.

Attempts to remove the general ban on Sunday hunting in Virginia hit a dead end earlier this month.

According to The Virginian-Pilot newspaper, a series of bills aimed at allowing Sunday hunting in Virginia was pulled from consideration by the state House of Delegates before coming up for any official discussions.

Apparently, the bills' sponsors discovered they didn't have enough votes from fellow lawmakers to move the legislation, the newspaper reported.

And so rather than have the bills defeated, the sponsors withdrew them.

There still is a bill circulating within the Virginia Senate that would allow Sunday hunting, but it eventually would have to be approved by the House for it to become law.

And The Virginian-Pilot quoted sources who said that's not likely to happen. The Senate bill also is expected to die eventually.

The Gazette Virginian newspaper heralded the withdrawal of the Sunday hunting legislation there by writing:

"Rural Virginia will enjoy peace and quiet with respite from hunters for at least another year."

The newspaper claimed there was considerable opposition to Sunday hunting across Virginia.

And leading the charge against it was the Virginia Farm Bureau.

"I myself believe everything deserves a day of rest including wildlife," a Farm Bureau official stated to the newspaper.

There currently are 11 states that have a ban on general Sunday hunting — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

(Sunday hunting actually isn't banned in Pennsylvania, but it is only allowed on a limited basis for foxes, crows and coyotes.

Likewise, it's allowed in 12 of West Virginia's 55 counties.)

When people talk about "ending the ban on Sunday hunting," they essentially are pushing for Sunday to be treated like every other day of the week, as far as hunting goes.

Technically, the Pennsylvania bill that would toss the general ban on Sunday hunting here still is alive in the state House of Representatives.

But it is expected to die this year without any action being taken on it, because there are more elected representatives opposed to it than in favor of it.

Leading the way against Sunday hunting here is the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

But farmers hardly are alone. Groups of birdwatchers, hikers, bikers and horseback riders also have said they want one day when they don't have to share Penns Woods with hunters.

A coalition of various organizations formed last year to end the Sunday-hunting bans in the 11 states.

The coalition members include the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Archery Trade Association, Boone and Crockett Club, Cabela's, Delta Waterfowl, Mule Deer Foundation, National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, and the Wildlife Management Institute.

From my perspective, as long as those organizations are leading the charge to end Sunday-hunting bans in states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania, the bans are likely to remain in effect.

States along the East Coast are old, and many are stubborn.

They tend to be led by elected officials who don't like outsiders telling them what to do.

I think the coalition would fare better in states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania if it built up grass-roots organizations within the individual states themselves and let those people push for an end to the Sunday-hunting bans.

As it stands now, our elected officials see a bunch of outsiders — some of whom could be perceived to be motivated solely by the chance to make a buck — pushing for something that their constituents don't agree is a good idea.

And when your job security rests in the hands of your constituents, that's a no-brainer.

You vote "no" every time.

P.J. Reilly is the Sunday News' outdoors writer. Email him at preilly@lnpnews.com.