Fireworks

[Chidoro]

I'm curious to see what people's opinions are on their state's fireworks laws. Everything is off-limits in NJ w/out a license. I know NY, Del and a few others also ban all forms of fireworks. It seems as if it shouldn't be that big of a deal and the sale law differences between states create a weird contraband atmosphere such as buying whatever you want to in PA so long as you take it out of PA. They don't even care if it ends up in NJ, just so long as it's out of PA. To me, I understand the fire hazards so I'm not sure I want it in NJ because people are densely populated and the people firing the stuff off have a chance to making stupid decisions because of likelyhood of intoxication. Then again, it stinks that the masses suffer because of the stupid.

[Winnow]

I survived many bottle rocket wars as a kid and they were typically in desert environments. I came very close to stating a big brush fire though so while I think fireworks are fun, I can't sign off on permitting them.

As an alternative, you can take old aerosol spray cans and throw them into a fire for explosive fun times. If you can find cheap enough aerosol cans of stuff for sale, they may be even more fun than firecackers...paint exploding everywhere...insect repellent...WD40...all sorts of stuff!

[Funkmasterr]

I think the laws are stupid. In MN almost everything (everything that explodes, basically) is illegal. However it is only a 45 minute drive across the border into Wisconsin were they are perfectly legal. So you have everyone going to get them illegally, and everyone sneaking around with them instead of being able to do them on their own property without worrying about the cops.

I personally think this leads to more dangerous situations than just letting people have them, and dealing with issues on a case by case basis. If someone commits some kind of malicious act (lol) with fireworks, then they can get a fine/arrested - but people are going to get the shit anyhow, and on top of that, seeing cops around my area spending time hunting down firework issues pisses me off almost as them setting up elaborate speed traps, its not what I pay those fat lazy good for nothing motherfuckers to do.

[Aslanna]

So what exactly do you pay those fat lazy good for nothing motherfuckers to do? Apparently it's not enforcing any sort of laws.

[Funkmasterr]

I have respect for cops that work in big cities and actually, you know, fight crime. Giving out as many speeding tickets and fireworks tickets as possible to create revenue is not protecting and serving. If these suburban police departments have enough of a force to have a dozen cops looking for fireworks or a 5 car speed trap setup, then they have too many officers and need to cut back so that the cops that are there are focusing on the more important things, like robberies, murders, etc etc.

[Aslanna]

Oh ok. You only pay them to enforce the laws you agree with. Got it! You should run for sheriff. I bet you could turn that local police force into a well oiled machine meow.

[Funkmasterr]

That is absolutely not what I was saying, but you have made a hobby out of being an obnoxious whore every time I post lately so I'm not surprised.

I don't know about you, but I have never spoke to a single person that thinks that using a huge police force to give out speeding tickets is what the cops should be doing with their time. At least not anyone outside of the fucking twilight zone that is VV.

[noel]

Almost nothing is legal in CA, and thank god.

It's too fucking dry here. We're really lucky with all the idiotic amateur pyrotechnicians (that were out in force last night) that the whole motherfucking state isn't on fire today. Maybe my prayers were answered and they all blew their fucking hands off.

[Funkmasterr]

See that's just it noel, all those people got them anyway. And the people that didn't get them that may have if they were legal are probably going to be a hell of a lot safer with them (I could be wrong), so I still fail to see the point.

[Spankes]

While I agree that they should be legal in some places I do not agree that they should be legal in all places. When I lived in CO I would go to WY to get fireworks and never through twice about it because where I lived was lush and green. Now that I am in AZ I would never think of lighting a bottle rocket.

To your point, Funk. Some people will cross state lines and get fireworks and fire them off...but that doesn't mean they should be legalized. Perhaps some people would be safer with them if they were legal; but, the huge increase in the number of people using fireworks would most certainly cause more fires.

[noel]

See that's just it noel, all those people got them anyway. And the people that didn't get them that may have if they were legal are probably going to be a hell of a lot safer with them (I could be wrong), so I still fail to see the point.

The fact that they broke the law doesn't make it right. The fact that the law is damn near unenforceable doesn't make it right.

I am a licensed pyrotechnician through Pyro Spectaculars in the state of California. I've done hand fired shows, electrically fired shows, barge shows (off the coast on a barge) and a host of other stadium shows. You basically apprentice with a licensed guy, and if you do enough shows, and aren't a fuckup, you can study, take a test, and get your license. These people have no idea what they're fucking with and I hope Darwin has his way with them.

[Boogahz]

I thought it was funny that some people around here were saying that they should either legalize them or make dealers stop selling them. They didn't seem to understand the concept of the fireworks not being legal in the CITY but being okay out in the COUNTY. The dealers were not breaking the law by selling fireworks outside of the city limits, but the consumers broke the law by bringing them into the city limits.

I have no problem at all with them remaining illegal, but I would like to see more roadblocks to check all vehicles coming back into town from areas with high concentrations of stands like when I was growing up. Hell, light the fireworks inside the person's car and let everyone see a real show!

[Siji]

As an adult I understand the problems that fireworks can cause, especially with all the out of control fires we've had lately, but I can also remember how cool it was when I was a kid and we had some to play with.

I have no problem with a kid and his/her parents lighting off fireworks on the street (during respectable hours!) while being supervised.. what I do have a problem with is kids having to hide them and sneak into the woods or backyard, or some other grassy area that can start a fire.

Of course, I don't know how you would handle saying one is ok and preventing the other.. I think it's sad that kids today don't get to have nearly the amount of experiences that we did.

[Morgrym]

A cop went out of his way last night to sit in an upper class neighborhood in an unmarked car. He sat there and watched my wifes family and friends set off a multitude of fireworks in the circle. We are not talking high tech things here, nothing that shoots into the air and blossoms, hell not even bottle rockets; just your simple run of the mill sparklers and ground effect things. The high shooting / exploding ones were going off in the distance, in fact, you could see them from where we were. Said cop proceeds to come over after we are finished and, I shit you not, counted every single scrap of everything. He cataloged stuff for a good 40 min before handing a neighbor a summons to appear to which end is attached a 10k fine or 365 days imprisonment. If I remember, I will let you guys know how the court hearing turns out. I imagine there are going to be tons of pissed off veterans in court that day and many warnings are going to be issued to save face. This is all in the crappy commonwealth of Virginia in case you were wondering. The funny thing is, we can drive 15 min south across the NC border where most fireworks are legal.

[Winnow]

Did the cop sit there and not attempt to stop you until it was over? That seems like neglect of duty to me if so.

If you were killing babies, would he have waited until the last baby was killed before writing you a ticket? If you can prove that he sat there and watched from the beginning, you may have a case of some sort to reduce the fine if it goes by number of violations.

[Funkmasterr]

A cop went out of his way last night to sit in an upper class neighborhood in an unmarked car. He sat there and watched my wifes family and friends set off a multitude of fireworks in the circle. We are not talking high tech things here, nothing that shoots into the air and blossoms, hell not even bottle rockets; just your simple run of the mill sparklers and ground effect things. The high shooting / exploding ones were going off in the distance, in fact, you could see them from where we were. Said cop proceeds to come over after we are finished and, I shit you not, counted every single scrap of everything. He cataloged stuff for a good 40 min before handing a neighbor a summons to appear to which end is attached a 10k fine or 365 days imprisonment. If I remember, I will let you guys know how the court hearing turns out. I imagine there are going to be tons of pissed off veterans in court that day and many warnings are going to be issued to save face. This is all in the crappy commonwealth of Virginia in case you were wondering. The funny thing is, we can drive 15 min south across the NC border where most fireworks are legal.

Last year, we were at my girlfriends parents house and the cops showed up before we even lit anything off, came to the backyard where we were, and made us put all of the fireworks we had (200 dollars or so worth of bottlerockets) in a bucket of water.

I have also seen situations where they sat out in the road and waited for them to be done, then walked up and did whatever.

[Morgrym]

Did the cop sit there and not attempt to stop you until it was over? That seems like neglect of duty to me if so.

If you were killing babies, would he have waited until the last baby was killed before writing you a ticket? If you can prove that he sat there and watched from the beginning, you may have a case of some sort to reduce the fine if it goes by number of violations.

He sat there on a side road with all lights off like a normal parked car. When the owner of the fireworks goes to court, I intend on putting on my full dress uniform and going in with him. His Navy pilot neighbor plans on doing the same. Figure if we shove enough red white and blue up their noses, they will see the light. What a dumb law to include all forms of firework.

[Aabidano]

Giving out as many speeding tickets and fireworks tickets as possible to create revenue is not protecting and serving.

In the 'burbs stopping people from doing stupid things that endanger the rest of the public, like speeding and blowing up the neighbors cat is a big part of protecting and serving. It's not like they have the same environment as a cop in an urban area. Most laws are there for a perfectly good reason, public safety in this case.

In densely populated areas I'm all for them being illegal, knowing that it will serve to cut it down a lot but not stop it. It was wet this year, in dry years I'm amazed the whole county doesn't go up in flames from fireworks being lit off by drunks.

*Edit - Pretty much everything is legal where I live, it's an unincorporated area so it'll likely stay that way. People around me spend literally thousands on fireworks that could probably be better spent on dental hygiene.

[lmnt9]

I have respect for cops that work in big cities and actually, you know, fight crime. Giving out as many speeding tickets and fireworks tickets as possible to create revenue is not protecting and serving. If these suburban police departments have enough of a force to have a dozen cops looking for fireworks or a 5 car speed trap setup, then they have too many officers and need to cut back so that the cops that are there are focusing on the more important things, like robberies, murders, etc etc.

I would agree that policing robberies, murders, etc is more important, and more along the lines of protect and serve, however they have to generate revenue to pay for that. It's a neccessary evil. It would be interesting to see what percentage of revenue comes from traffic/parking enforcement vs violent crime judgements.

[Soreali]

I have respect for cops that work in big cities and actually, you know, fight crime. Giving out as many speeding tickets and fireworks tickets as possible to create revenue is not protecting and serving. If these suburban police departments have enough of a force to have a dozen cops looking for fireworks or a 5 car speed trap setup, then they have too many officers and need to cut back so that the cops that are there are focusing on the more important things, like robberies, murders, etc etc.

I would agree that policing robberies, murders, etc is more important, and more along the lines of protect and serve, however they have to generate revenue to pay for that. It's a neccessary evil. It would be interesting to see what percentage of revenue comes from traffic/parking enforcement vs violent crime judgements.

In cozy little towns like the ones I live in at least 95% of their revenue comes from traffic/parking violations. Police around here have nothing better to do with their time because there really isn't any crime in this area.. So they'll set up their speed traps and pull over young kids for no reason (Like they did to me tuesday night) just to make it look like they're doing their job.. theres nothing wrong with it really.. quite annoying yes, but nothing wrong with it..

the fact that a cop sat in an unmarked car with his lights off and waited for the fireworks to be set off before he did something was stupid IMO though.. and thats coming from someone that wants to be a cop!

[Sirensa]

Did the cop sit there and not attempt to stop you until it was over? That seems like neglect of duty to me if so.

If you were killing babies, would he have waited until the last baby was killed before writing you a ticket? If you can prove that he sat there and watched from the beginning, you may have a case of some sort to reduce the fine if it goes by number of violations.

He sat there on a side road with all lights off like a normal parked car. When the owner of the fireworks goes to court, I intend on putting on my full dress uniform and going in with him. His Navy pilot neighbor plans on doing the same. Figure if we shove enough red white and blue up their noses, they will see the light. What a dumb law to include all forms of firework.

Bet all that does is piss off the judge and make him/her give max fine.