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SALT LAKE CITY -- After hearing complaints from constituents, a leading lawmaker wants to scrap the new law that gave us a full month of fireworks use this summer. Not everybody, it seems, got a bang out of the new rules.
Senator John Valentine of Orem will propose going back to the old system, which allowed for fireworks use three days before and after the Fourth and 24th of July holidays. He says the expanded period this year generated hundreds of complaints from people who didn't like hearing the noisemakers every night, and often late into the night.
The senator's rewrite will introduce a curfew for fireworks use, but won't reverse changes that have allowed for sale and use of more powerful cake-style fireworks.
While most people have nothing against fireworks per se, a lot of people feel things got out of hand. Perhaps the liberalized laws encouraged an "anything goes" attitude among fireworks fans. The combination of allowing more powerful pyrotechnics, and more time to legally fire them off, may have signaled to some that the new law comprised virtual amnesty against disturbing the peace ordinances.
And with so many people taking advantage, police and fire officials -- as they long warned -- were not in a position to strictly enforce the rules.
Because of that, Sen. Valentine's push to go back to more reasonable restrictions is in itself, more than reasonable. The nightly use of fireworks is less about patriotic celebration than adolescent recreation, and those who complain of lost sleep, anxious pets and acrid air have a persuasive point, and every right to a more serene summer.
KSL believes Sen. Valentine is wise to try and restore balance to the state's fireworks rules, which will go a long way toward bringing down the noise, on both sides.
Email: cpsarras@ksl.com
