The legalization of Fireworks

[Charlie40]

Who would like to see fireworks bans lifted for cities to where you could shoot your own fireworks in your yard or at a city park?

[BBatesokc]

Not me. Keep them in rural areas.

However, I'm not opposed to cities designating specific open areas for people to fire off their fireworks. Sort of like I've attended in the past in Yukon.

[FRISKY]

Like how much fun it was "in the old days" before everything had to be judged as to whether it was PC or not?

At first I thought that would be a good idea, but then I remembered how today's kids don't have the common sense needed to play with hazardous substances.
That was probably caused by the absence of education relating to exposure (lack of) anything that could possibly be a threat to the little darlings.

[White Peacock]

I don't think safety is a political correctness issue. I certainly don't want a bunch of drunkards or dumb kids setting off fireworks near my house. Designated areas, sure, but not just a free-for-all.

[kevinpate]

I miss pop bottle rockets more than anything else. Or in my case milk jug scatter gun rockets. During the great rocket wars of the 70's I was never the long distance sniper nor the strategic mortar guy. Being amongst the youngest, and thus more expendable members of our battle team, we were the front liners (aka targets for the bigger kids.)

But mowing yards provided lots of rocket money, and what I lacked in precision I made up for in brute firepower. stuff a few dozen rocket fuses into a milk jug, repeat for a few more jugs. Rush forward while the snipers and mortars tried to distract the other side. Light off two jugs, stand up with wide wing span and dispense a couple of dozen rockets from each jug in each hand, blanketing the other side. Jump over to two other jugs, light and release. Grab up jugs, run for cover and reload.

Yeah, for the life of me I canna imagine why those things were ever taken off the market.

[MDot]

I agree with FRISKY and White Peacock, even though I'm still a teenager, I think they couldn't be any more right. It isn't because I'm dumb and have no common sense but it's because I'm an acception to the typical teenage crowd. In other words, kids my age or a little younger -- even a little older, which is the college crowd -- will kill somebody or themselves because they have no self-control and can't help but act-a-fool.

[Charlie40]

Yeah, I wish more cities would legalize them again even if it meant a controlled area sectioned off by the city. Safety is all about the parent teaching the child how to properly light them and going over the proper procedures and of course supervising them while doing it.

[White Peacock]

I agree with FRISKY and White Peacock, even though I'm still a teenager, I think they couldn't be any more right. It isn't because I'm dumb and have no common sense but it's because I'm an acception to the typical teenage crowd. In other words, kids my age or a little younger -- even a little older, which is the college crowd -- will kill somebody or themselves because they have no self-control and can't help but act-a-fool.

This will sound selfish (it is), but I'm less concerned with unsupervised kids killing themselves than I am with one of them burning my house down. I agree that it's a matter of parents supervising their children and making sure they don't make mistakes, but those mistakes don't only affect the kids if they catch a neighbor's house on fire. Neighbors shouldn't have to suffer for one family's failure to put some common sense in their progenies' heads, so I'm not for the general legalization of fireworks in populated areas.

[oneforone]

If I remember right the main reason they were banned in the first place is because of all the house fires that were started from people shooting fireworks.

In residential area a small fire has the potential to grow to take out a city block. If you need proof, go look up the news stories from the grassfires that have happened over the years. Most of the fires started from something as small as lit cigarette.

If you do a little networking, you can find someone who has land in a rural area where they are throwing a Fourth of July party. I can go to a relatives house anytime I want to and shoot fireworks. I choose not to because it's a waste of money these days. Not to mention most of the products have been watered down thanks to stupid people and lawsuits. These days we grill at the house and go over to Joe Barnes Park about the time the fireworks start.

We used to go to Bricktown to the ball game but, we stopped because it's just too much of a hassle these days.

[Charlie40]

Yeah, but watching someone else get the fun of lighting them and shooting them off in a professional display just takes the fun out of it for me anyway. I would prefer it to be legal again and have a cookout that day then shoot fireworks that eveing in my own yard. Shooting things within reason like smaller stuff that doesnt fly up in the air etc. fountains and firecrackers all those smaller things.

[MDot]

This will sound selfish (it is), but I'm less concerned with unsupervised kids killing themselves than I am with one of them burning my house down. I agree that it's a matter of parents supervising their children and making sure they don't make mistakes, but those mistakes don't only affect the kids if they catch a neighbor's house on fire. Neighbors shouldn't have to suffer for one family's failure to put some common sense in their progenies' heads, so I'm not for the general legalization of fireworks in populated areas.

That's a legitimate concern. I remember when I was younger, growing up with my Great Grandparents, they would always get mad when the neighbors shot off fireworks because 1. across the street was a "forest park" that could catch fire and spread fast, and 2. because they didn't want the house or tree's in the yard to catch on fire.

[Charlie40]

That's a legitimate concern. I remember when I was younger, growing up with my Great Grandparents, they would always get mad when the neighbors shot off fireworks because 1. across the street was a "forest park" that could catch fire and spread fast, and 2. because they didn't want the house or tree's in the yard to catch on fire.

Waterhose Will take care of that Keep one handy!!

[Bill Robertson]

Yeah, I wish more cities would legalize them again even if it meant a controlled area sectioned off by the city. Safety is all about the parent teaching the child how to properly light them and going over the proper procedures and of course supervising them while doing it.

But we seem to already have a problem with many parents being irresponsible. An irresponsible parent won't see to it that fireworks are set off safely.

Waterhose Will take care of that Keep one handy!!

I really don't want to sit in my yard all night from July 1st to July 6th or 7th with a water hose. My front planter was set on fire last year by illegal fireworks and I was none too happy about that.

[Charlie40]

But we seem to already have a problem with many parents being irresponsible. An irresponsible parent won't see to it that fireworks are set off safely.

I really don't want to sit in my yard all night from July 1st to July 6th or 7th with a water hose. My front planter was set on fire last year by illegal fireworks and I was none too happy about that.

No promptly put out your firework after it has finished then put it in a pile then when done for the night rewater down the wole pile, prior to setting off your fireworks water down the area you will be setting them off in.

[MadMonk]

I miss pop bottle rockets more than anything else. Or in my case milk jug scatter gun rockets. During the great rocket wars of the 70's I was never the long distance sniper nor the strategic mortar guy. Being amongst the youngest, and thus more expendable members of our battle team, we were the front liners (aka targets for the bigger kids.)

But mowing yards provided lots of rocket money, and what I lacked in precision I made up for in brute firepower. stuff a few dozen rocket fuses into a milk jug, repeat for a few more jugs. Rush forward while the snipers and mortars tried to distract the other side. Light off two jugs, stand up with wide wing span and dispense a couple of dozen rockets from each jug in each hand, blanketing the other side. Jump over to two other jugs, light and release. Grab up jugs, run for cover and reload.

Yeah, for the life of me I canna imagine why those things were ever taken off the market.

Ahh, a fellow veteran of the annual cannon-fodder slaughter. I too miss those wonderful little bits of explosive joy on a stick. The roman candle battles after the ban just weren't the same without the bottle rockets providing audio warning that the battle had begun.

However, in the Mustang area (the last bastion of large-scale battles within a city limit) you can often find whatever it is that you seek in the underground market around that time of year.

*EDIT* disregard that link referring to the underground in downtown OKC, I don't know why it automatically adds that. You can't find anything down there.

[Bill Robertson]

No promptly put out your firework after it has finished then put it in a pile then when done for the night rewater down the wole pile, prior to setting off your fireworks water down the area you will be setting them off in.

If I were to use fireworks I would be extremely safe. I'm not at all worried with my doing anything I do safely. It's the people who would let kids use fireworks with little supervision that I'm concerned about. Much like the ones who drive down our street throwing firecrackers out the car window now.

[kevinpate]

...
*EDIT* disregard that link referring to the underground in downtown OKC, I don't know why it automatically adds that. You can't find anything down there.

Had to laugh. Just imagine the chaos if one could stage a bottle rocket war down there, especially when a scatter gun or two was let loose.

[NoOkie]

If I were to use fireworks I would be extremely safe. I'm not at all worried with my doing anything I do safely. It's the people who would let kids use fireworks with little supervision that I'm concerned about. Much like the ones who drive down our street throwing firecrackers out the car window now.

I'm with you. I like fireworks, but we live in a place which has wildfire problems. Individual rights stop at the point where you could do damage to many other properties.

[Charlie40]

Again I say be responsible with them. I would like to get a movement going to make them legal again in most cities with certain restrictions, or at most done in a city park with the fire dept on hand just in case.

[oneforone]

Again I say be responsible with them. I would like to get a movement going to make them legal again in most cities with certain restrictions, or at most done in a city park with the fire dept on hand just in case.

You will never see OCFD get behind that movement. They actively search the city for people setting off fireworks. At one time they were staking out fireworks stands that were just outside of city limits. If anybody drove back into the city with fireworks, they had police do a traffic stop. They would confiscate the fireworks and write the driver a ticket.

[Bill Robertson]

Again I say be responsible with them. I would like to get a movement going to make them legal again in most cities with certain restrictions, or at most done in a city park with the fire dept on hand just in case.

But people aren't responsible. That's the problem. As to the second idea. Get real. The OKCFD doesn't have time to babysit fireworks shooters. Even if they did it would be a misuse of taxpayer money.

[Charlie40]

Mustang allows it, CHoctaw does, Valley Brook does, Why not other cities??

[Bill Robertson]

Mustang and Choctaw still like to consider themselves out in the country. Wait til they grow a bit more. They'll ban fireworks.

Valley Brook? It's like a mile stretch of SE 59th and known for nudie bars and speed traps. Yeah, let's be like them.

Give it up. The smaller towns are going to ban fireworks eventually. The cities already banning them are not going to overturn the bans.

[Midtowner]

As a teenager, I recall some pretty serious mayhem perpetrated by myself and my friends with fireworks.

It's probably true that we didn't injure anyone because we did what we did in fairly rural settings.

[Snowman]

Waterhose Will take care of that Keep one handy!!

If your talking about something that stays on a fireproof pad or is intended to be handheld like sparklers then that is something you can fairly easily control near your house, then that is one thing. A wide variety could end up in a nearby yard who's owners may not be there and you may not realizing a fire is starting till you could not control it. You have got to be kidding or delusional if you think you could control a fire started in a random spot of a park with a water hose that hardly would reach past your property line, even less feasible to do so if you are not part of the party igniting them and would not know where one might have gone.