The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.

One of my earliest experiences with the vagaries and inconsistencies of the legal system occurred around the time I was 10. That would be 1972 for those keeping score at home. My father and I had driven to a fireworks stand out on Route 2 to acquire a few items for our 4th of July celebration. We weren’t into elaborate (read, expensive) displays; we were just looking to buy some sparklers, smoke bombs, snakes and maybe a few bottle rockets, as we had the previous summer and every summer before that as long as I could remember – which, in all honesty, was probably two. 

Unbeknownst to us, however, the State of Ohio Legislature had made some modifications in the laws governing fireworks, which had effectively made anything that could potentially go BANG! illegal. 

I’m sure the law was well-intentioned, but to a kid who only gets to light things on fire ONCE A YEAR, it was a pretty disappointing development. As we were about to leave, though, the salesman said, with a literal wink and nod, “Of course, if you were buying these wholesale to transport out of the state for retail sale elsewhere …” Yes, the wise politicians in Columbus had carefully crafted a law that ostensibly “protected” the public while featuring a loophole of sufficient size to sail an aircraft carrier through. 

I have never understood our government’s determination to ban fireworks. Yep, they’re dangerous. Yep, kids (and adults, mostly drunk ones) have lost fingers, hands, eyes and worse using them. But the same could be said about bicycles and pointed scissors, and I don’t see any organized effort to ban those. 

Invariably, laws restricting the sale and use of fireworks are brought about by the parents of some poor soul who decided to stick a lit firecracker in his mouth to see what would happen. (Hint: It typically does not go well.) Said parents then recruit other negligent concerned parents who have had similar experiences and lobby for a change in the law. Politicians, as a group, are suckers for concerned parents, and so it goes. First, it was fireworks, then lawn darts … next they’ll be coming for our Slip ‘N Slides. It’s a, well, slippery slope, I tell you! 

Statistically, the most dangerous item in any household is the ladder. One in three ladders will be involved in an injury accident requiring medical attention at some point in their lifespan. Yeah, I just made that up, right on the spot, but it sounds pretty authoritative, huh? Based on the weight of that research, maybe we should ban ladders.

I’m not saying we should hand out M-80s to toddlers like candy, but with proper adult supervision, I can’t see much harm in letting kids of an appropriate age sashay around the yard waving a sparkler. Sure, a minor burn is a possibility, but it’s a big, bad world out there, and that’s why they make aloe vera creme. 

Ironically, sparklers were the one type of fireworks my dad was suspicious of. He was convinced I would leave the wire remnants in the yard where he would run over them with his lawnmower and, to paraphrase a famous movie line, “put an eye out, kid.” I guess it goes to show that even the most laissez-faire parents have some phobias. 

Even though fireworks that shoot into the air are more or less banned in North Carolina, my neighborhood resembles Baghdad in the early hours of Desert Storm each and every 4th of July. I read comments in the local paper by the town’s police chief to the effect that, while setting off fireworks in the city limits is illegal, his department does not have the resources to (wink, wink, nod, nod) enforce that law unless the perpetrators are being egregiously careless and endangering the public. In other words … have at it, just don’t blow anyone up. 

Have a great 4th of July, but PLEASE pick up those wires before you mow.