Keep Sparkle In The Nation’s Birthday Party

We who love fireworks are going to win.

The right to set off sparkling fountains in our front yards is a right that has been taken away by worrywarts in most Washington and Idaho cities and towns.

Fireworks are more fun than worrywarts.

Fireworks have God, the Chinese and Native Americans on their side.

The American Fireworks News, a national newsletter distributed to more than 20 countries, says it best right there on the cover:

“He who hath once smelt smoke is ne’er agin free.”

When you are young and the summer night is darkening, when the fuse is lit and you are running away to find a safe spot just as the Roman candles rocket skyward with a burst and a whiff of powder, it begins.

From that moment of memory, the Fourth of July becomes one of the biggest holidays of the year. Fireworks make it big.

Big noise. Big flashes. Big billowy clouds of smoke from snakes that seem to rise out of the sidewalk.

Of course, a few nut cases and drunks who forget to let go when they light a firecracker end up one finger short.

And, occasionally the wind will conspire to start a small fire on the roof or in the back, and the fire department earns its money.

And these infrequent occurrences allow the worrywarts to get elected or create jobs dedicated to wringing all risk out of daily life.

But I would wager even their hearts are stirred by the thrill of a night time display on the Fourth of July.

Public demand for big fireworks shows has never been higher. Look at the crowds this weekend in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and elsewhere that came to ogle the new generation of brighly colored shells with long cascading streamers that have moved most public fireworks displays to new levels of awe.

“There are some great new fireworks coming out of China,” said John Fisher, whose family owns Port Gardner Fireworks Co. in Everett. “One of my favorites is the spangled willow.It hangs in the sky for 10 seconds.”

All hail Most Favored Nation trading status.

Here’s a vote for opening up world trade. China’s growth into a world economic power is but one reason fireworks will be a growth industry in the 21st century.

There are other reasons.

New ballparks and religion are two. “All kinds of sporting events use fireworks,” said a spokesman for American Fireworks News. “Religious uses are growing, too. Cinco de Mayo is a big day.”

Even lawmakers and judges, who often consort with worrywarts, are beginning to take a second look at the fun of fireworks.

Idaho is leading the way in this effort.

A new law allows local fire departments or county commissions to legalize previously banned fireworks. Washington is seeing some movement back toward safe and sane fireworks regulation.

A Thurston County judge recently struck down a law that would have limited where fireworks would be sold.

The law would have eliminated 60 percent or more of the fireworks stands in the state, according to Jerry Farley, a lobbyist for the fireworks industry.

Could the laws and the conventional wisdom regarding the sale of fireworks be changing?

They need to be changed.

New research suggests our current over-regulation of fireworks isn’t working, anyway.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has just reported that the states imposing the most rigid restrictions on the use of fireworks end up with a larger number of injuries.

The 10 states that currently ban all fireworks accounted for 41 percent of all fireworks injuries last year, even though they have only 20 percent of the nation’s population.

The reason?

People want fireworks.

In states where fireworks are banned, people go looking anyway and often end up with bigger, more dangerous black market items that can cause greater injury.

Fireworks can cause injury. So can taking a shower.

Life is full of far greater risks, like smoking, working and getting old.

Fireworks provide a cheap thrill, a few ooohs and ahs in between the really dangerous stuff of living.

Teaching a kid how to be safe with fireworks provides a wonderful opportunity to show the link between rights and responsibilities.

At the moment, the law, the courts and new research give politicians a chance to lighten up about fireworks.

I say bring back the fun of the Fourth and change the laws to allow folks to set off a few front yard cones and rockets.

Those were the good old days before worrywarts took over.

, DataTimes MEMO: Chris Peck is the Editor of The Spokesman-Review. His column appears each Sunday on Perspective.