Should the sale of fireworks be banned (except to trained professionals)? Here is a Google News search for fireworks accident:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=fireworks+accident
As you can see accidents range from losing a hand, a leg, an eye… to dying.
For example something I would be too cowardly to try:
Should Devon be honored for his patriotism? Or given a Darwin reward?
I think mandatory training should be required before the purchase of lethal fireworks.
No. Several states and localities allow low level fireworks unlikely to do anything except burn people. I don’t know all the state laws, but I think the fireworks likely to be lethal due to explosives are already illegal most places. Stupid people can and do cause much more harm every day with ordinary legal materials.
Total Darwin award winner.
That being said I don’t think fireworks should be restricted. I’ve watched a professional blow off his thumb at a fireworks show a couple of years ago. On the other hand my friends and I played with fireworks and made our own for years and no one ever got hurt, though there was some minor property damage. Personally I hate safe and sane fireworks they are boring pretty sparkles and I would rather watch a good show then play with those.
Might as well ban drinking and instantly put an end to an enormous variety of stupid, self-destructive behavior.
I take a neutral stance on this issue. I live in MA fireworks have been illegal here my entire life and it hasn’t impacted me one bit. I’m not going to advocate stopping NH from selling them nor am I going to try and change the law in MA.
I think a better case can be made for banning the sale of fireworks can be made than lawn darts and magnetic balls. People didn’t put up much of a fuss over those things.
No. I don’t think they should be banned and I opposed the bans/restrictions some locales have on them, especially on Independence Day.
I think it’s tyrannically ironic that we are allowed to celebrate our freedom on the 4th of July but only in a manner approved of by the government.
Sounds fair and reasonable then you had to go and say this:
Yeah I want to celebrate by burning a ‘witch’ at the stake or by claiming someone else’s property as my own. It’s an American tradition! No tyrannical government should stop me!
There are only two legitimate reasons to even consider banning fireworks:
Staples’ death is not a reason to ban fireworks. It’s impossible to build a world where a sufficiently stupid person cannot kill themselves, and we should not restrict people’s freedoms just to attempt that impossible task.
*Before purchasing fireworks, you are required to fill out the following questionaire:
Are you a moron?
Yes
No*
And then, the fireworks sale should be allowed no matter what the customer answers.
Explanation: Those who check “Yes” would then have the opportunity to make Darwin Award winners of themselves. Remember, the whole idea of the Darwin Award (the very thing that the award in meant to recognize) that these people improve society by improving the gene pool by removing themselves from it. For the betterment of society, this needs to be encouraged.
Providing, of course, they are required to video record their activities for the amusement and edification of others. Sometimes the best use of someone’s life is to serve as an object lesson.
There are already many cities where sale of fireworks is banned. Just saying.
And this should stay a state/local issue.
They should at least restrict the noise level and location.
Should we all be allowed to fire actual bombs to burst in the air? Also fire our guns into the air in celebration? Do you literally draw no line or are you actually using hyperbole to say the line should be much farther in the liberty direction?
You left out nuclear weapons. Those are the coolest fireworks.
Yeah, but then I think of CA the other night when people were firing off their illicit fireworks over the bone-dry scrub of a creek side and empty lots near my job. I’m not all that concerned with idiots choosing to maim themselves in creative way, I am a little concerned about them burning down the neighborhood.
In drought country in the summer a little less moron would be nice.
So far, I’m in favor of most of the suggestions here, including
[ul]
[li]Citizens launching fireworks.[/li][li]Firing actual bombs into the air. Wait, didn’t I just cover that? Okay, just to be clear, I am in favor of the firing of both actual and hypothetical bombs into the air.[/li][li]Celebratory gunfire.[/li][li]Lawn darts and magnetic balls. Not sure what we’ll do with 'em, but I’m in favor.[/ul][/li]
Not so sure about these:
[ul]
[li]Nuclear weapons (can we have the mushroom cloud without the high temperatures and radiation?)[/li][li]Burning witches. I think this one could be okay if we can confirm the approach to identifying witches (I’ve always favored the scales-and-duck weight comparison method). And what do we burn, aside from witches? MORE witches.[/li][li]Claiming someone else’s property as my own…as long as we all agree that this will only apply to me, I’ll move it into the first list.[/li][/ul]
This thread has me convinced that next year’s 4th is gonna be awesome…I just wish this thread had started in time for THIS year…
-VM
Definitely the Darwin award, as should that genius who decided swimming with crocodiles (despite posted warnings AND folks telling him not to) would be a great idea.
I’m not normally really big on bans, and certainly not because folks are stupid and try and light them on top of their heads. If folks want to do that, well, more power to them I say. However, I will say that my attitude wrt fireworks has shifted over time. Not because of people hurting themselves or others, mainly, but because it seems crazy to me to allow the things in environments where wild fires can easily start from idiots using the things. I’m not sure if I’d say we need an across the board ban, but some additional regulation seems to be in order.
Out of curiosity, foreign 'dopers, do you guys use a lot of personal fireworks? I know in Mexico there are quite a bit of the things (and generally, at least where my family used to live it’s the same issue…it’s a freaking desert with a lot of potential for wild fires).
I’m sure there might be an exception or I might’ve missed one, but as far as I can tell there have been zero witches burned in the United States or its predecessor colonies. Note the method of execution for the Salem victims. Burning is downright Yurupeean.
I am fine with how it is: states or localities can regulate, and border towns can reap the benefits. It was banned where I grew up, but you could drive to a town in the next county where they probably made a steady profit. Or do what I did as a kid, head to Chinatown, where it is “illegal” to sell them, but who are we kidding?