What set you off on this subject.  Is the heat getting to you. The proposed ban is due to the widespread use of illegal fireworks.  If all citizens would abide, this would not be an issue.  Two houses were caught on fire due to illegal fireworks.  Where is the cause for celebration in that?  I hope the ban is imposed.  Let you be the first to set of your oh so coveted fireworks and get caught.  Why don't you just go to the public fireworks displays. 

You are wrong about fireworks only being set off during the 4th and New Years.  The fire dept is still getting calls for illegal fireworks. 

Yeah, so you want to just slowly follow down the road to total regulation of all aspects of your life.  I understand.  But you must understand it starts slowly.  Study your history.

People are still setting off fireworks because they couldn't on the 4th for fear of getting fined for using what they bought with their own money.  Let them finish off their personal show, and you don't have to worry anymore.

As far as the houses on fire...that's a property rights issue.  It should be dealt that way.  For the guy who almost lost an eye...if he lit the firework, then it's his bad.  If it was a faulty firework, then he could file suit against the manufacturer.  Also, if someone else set off an illegal firework that harmed someone, they should have to cover the medical costs, and any other costs due to the sufferer.

You see, we already have ways of dealing with this stuff.  It does not require a ban.

House on fire a property rights issue?  That is ridiculous.  These people did not set their house on fire, it was a neighbor with illegal fireworks.  You are way out there.  It is always some one elses fault seems to be your thinking.  Try to cover your medical costs from a person that has no money and no personal assets.  Ways of dealing?  Why should we have to deal with this garbage?  Bet you still drive with your cell phone next to your ear and text message at that.

Fireworks...Henry....Shrider

vwilory so if we ban fireworks..whats next Christmas trees? punkins with candles? birthday cakes ?? Quit being so dam afraid of life and be more responsible... teach that to your kids..if you don't trust your neighbor with a match either turn his a$$ in or get out the water hose..its not like one little fire work will automatically turn your home into a raging infern if your right there..

Or is it you just like to go to the displays so you don't give a crap about other people ...so you would just rather kill theirs so you can have yours??Valley fever changed my way of life so we don't go to those public displays because of the huge amounts of smoke, drunks and traffic..so we buy from the stands... if it bothers me i go inside and the wife and kids finish off...yet you would rather we get to do nothing?? Thanks alot..appreciate that..what a pal..

for me life really sucks without door to door Halloween kids ..i used to spend tons on spooky decor and worked for weeks on the front yard to spook your babies...ya all really fixed that one...you gonna ban whats left of that too??

so whats life gonna be like in another 20 years if people like you ..Henry....Shrider..get their way??..you expect thousands and thousands of people to give up their holiday celebrations because of a few...is that how ur momma and daddy disciplined you and your siblings as kids?? Wow what a miserable childhood you musta had..

As TomW so succinctly points out, when Marylee Shrider and Lois Henry agree on an issue I would have to say both sides of  the fence have reached across and shook hands on the matter. Both the police and fire departments have publicly stated a ban is way overdue. The air quality in this region alone should be cause for the ban, but we also see a huge spike in stray and frightened pets that make their way to the Animal Big House, which finds itself overwhelmed from just the day to day irresponsibility of the local population.

For those of you so concerned about government regulations curtailing your entertainment, I urge you to invest in Afghanistan property where no regulations exist.  Afghanistan, the role model  of libertarian  values, beckons to  you and your friends. You will be able to shoot your fireworks and guns off any day of the week without fear of government intervention. No taxes in Afghanistan, only a little tithing to your local religious extremist and warlord. No public education to pay for, and a place where women are discouraged from ever leaving the comfy confines of the home. No pesky environmentalists to worry yourselves over curtailing the free markets of the peddling and opium trading. No building codes to worry over while you create your own specially designed and crafted domicile.

adampayne I usually enjoy reading your posts..gotta say this one is way over the top..so now freedom loving americans should all ship out to afghanistan because we wish to enjoy a once a year fireworks display commemerating our Right to FREEDOM??? Thats ATE UP..me thinks if you really feel that way and since you have so much knowledge about real estate values in third world countries..ya might wanna consider a relocation project yourself..

siouxcity, what Adam is saying is that our country is a balance of "freedom to" and "freedom from".  Afghanistan definately biases more in favor of "freedom to".   But if the old credo "Your right to swing your fist stops at the tip of my nose" is to still be a guiding principle, we should have the debate over where the tips of our noses are.

TOMW there was no haggling over who had a right to and who didnt in adams post..it was more a generic if you dont like my view then get the hell out..he was searching for the tip of my nose so i simply returned the favor..

SiouxCity, all I got was Adam setting up Afghanisan as a Bali Hai for "freedom to" types.  I didn't get a "love it or leave it" vibe at all.

I don't have a problem with kids lighting noisemakers and sparklers. Idiots with a few beers in them and setting off an explosive rocket that can burn a house down or maime somebody is quite a different matter. Like so many other issues, one must pick a side and go to extremes. Moderation does not seem to be an option.

What's next? Our right to shoot the face off of 78 year old Texans?

Laws are about lines. Your Glock is okay, a nuclear device is not. If my grandkid is standing outside and celebrating, what has personal responsibility about the use of illegal fireworks got to do with it?  If the dumass across the street sends a rocket into his eye, his lack of personal responsibility and subsequent punishment will not get the kid's eye back.

It's where you draw the line. In arab countries, shooting your AK in the air is acceptable, but it's pretty freakin' stupid. So is setting people's houses on fire. Rights goes both ways. There are ways to celebrate without endangering other's abilities to celebrate. It's not a liberty issue, it's a safety issue.

Siouxcityranch, my post was about many who comment on these blogs believing their perceived personal freedoms are more important than the whole's personal safety.  When behaviors tend to endanger the public good, laws or regulations are enacted  to curb the dangers and protect the  general public.  If people had ever shown any capacity to be responsible, and work with one another, laws and government would not be necessary. From my point of view people have never been inclined to cooperate and compromise with one another and so we have laws, regulations and government in most places. For those who feel compelled to live in the fantasy world of The Fountainhead, and choose to oppose all tax and government, Afghanistan offers that rare but palpably strong opportunity to see what the results are in practice. My comments were not a "love it or leave it" proposition. They were what I consider to be an apt illustration of what the total absence of government offers those who continue to argue solely for the right to do anything they deem okay to do, even if the general public be damned in the process.  I hope that clarifies the situation.

TomW, thanks for your kind defense of my argument and position.

" The proposed ban is due to the widespread use of illegal fireworks. " 

How is banning existing legal fireworks going to stop the use of already "illegal" fireworks?  Why not first increase the penalties for using illegal fireworks and for modifying legal fireworks.  And heck, if the foul air bothers you, then add a carbon offset tax.  That has been good enough to ease the conscience of Gore and Schwarzenager.

Adam, I was there and it seemed clear.  I didn't want to step on toes.  For myself I actually don't support a ban on fireworks, but I absolutely understand why people want one.  I really enjoy anything that is neighborhood based and gets people into the street doing something together.  I think next year I'm gonna have a BBQ in my *front* yard.

I love the line about fireworks being a "property rights issue"... as if you can tell the aerial burst or roman candles to stay within property lines.

 adampayne  wrote: For those of you so concerned about government regulations curtailing your entertainment, I urge you to invest in Afghanistan property where no regulations exist.  Afghanistan, the role model  of libertarian  values, beckons to  you and your friends. You will be able to shoot your fireworks and guns off any day of the week without fear of government intervention."

I hate to keep kicken a dead horse but from where I'm sitting this passage apparently reads to you one way and to me another..I realize its all irrelevant by now but this was where  I was coming from in my post..

Fireworks going off around me as I type.   Sounds like a string of firecrackers

Tom, that's what Marks neighborhood does.  There are only about 3 houses involved but other friends and family join them.  This year they had Marks BBQ AND the next door neighbors BBQ going at once..and both in the front yard.  They set up awnings and tables with ice chests all over the place filled with everything from water to soda to beer.  Mark took his big hurricane like fan over and the neighbor put up misters on the garage which was  open with more tables for food, chairs, and a big flat screen TV inside.  It seems to get bigger each year.  I love the hubbub but leave when the kids start up the fireworks as I'm not into that for lots of reasons...two being I don't like the smell or the noise.  I like my fireworks waaaaay up in the sky.  I forgot the slip and slide I meant to take over for the kids though.

Food was as you'd expect, burgers, hot dogs, hot links and all the salads you could want.  Some brought other meats and just threw them on the grill.  Marks g/f made cream cheese stuffed jalapenos and Mark grilled them.  They seems to be a hit.

If someone's firework has started your house on fire, they just infringed on your property rights.  That's what I was saying.  Not that their fireworks are their property...which is also true.  Don't ban, use the courts to settle property damage.  Like I said, it's a property rights issue.

If someone's fireworks set your house on fire, they're either using illegals or altered fireworks, one is illegal, the other stupid. How is this their "right"? How about my right to have my house still standing after my idiot neighbors are finished with their "fun"?

Fewer people would be upset about this is EVERYONE used "safe & sane" and limited their usage to the fourth. But when folks are still setting off air bursts on the 13th? Especially when it all starts on the first day fireworks are sold (7/1)

You guys really need to think this through.  They have a right to light off fireworks.  They have a right to celebrate the 4th.  However, that right ends when they begin to infringe on your rights.  One of your rights is your property.  If someone vandalizes your home, they have infringed on your rights.  If they light a firework off and it damages your property in any way, then they have infringed on your property rights.  They should be punished for this.

But, to tell someone that they cannot light off fireworks will not solve any problems.  The fireworks starting these house fires are already illegal.  What good will it do, or how will house fires decrease, if we outlaw all fireworks.  Bottom line...zero.  The people who already light off illegal fireworks will continue to light off illegal fireworks.  They have no problem doing it already.

That is why we must look at this based on property rights.  I have a right to spend my money and celebrate the 4th.  But, if in so doing, I start your house on fire, I should be held liable.  I just infringed on your property rights.  Do you get what I'm saying?!!!  Banning all fireworks is a ridiculous proposal, and it just shows that you haven't used your brain on this one.

If you're upset about the fireworks still going off, then call your police department or sheriff's department to file a nuissance complaint or a disturbing the peace complaint.  Pushing for an all out ban forever is just a typical liberal emotional response to a problem we already have answers for.

BonnyLoon, you're calling Shrider a typical liberal?

Let me ask you this:  if on any other night of the year one of your neighbor played a tape recording of fireworks at actual volume, would that be considered ok?  Why not?

Nancy, sorry I missed your post about Mark.  I love that.