I'm curious what you folks think about Senator Rogert's fireworks bill making its way through the Unicameral this session. In short: it would make certain larger shells legal; bottle rockets and night parachutes would remain illegal; metal-handled sparklers would become illegal; and fireworks would be legal to use and sell on more occasions. Or put another way: bigger booms in the air, fewer burns on the ground, and more opportunities to blow stuff up.
My views on fireworks are wildly conflicted. I grew up loving fireworks, and after high school I ran a few fireworks tents. That experience, for various reasons, made me completely ambivalent about the fireworks aspect of Independence Day. Within just the past two years I have started to become more of a curmudgeon, viewing the whole exercise as a giant, wasteful barrage of foolishness and -- all too often -- incivility. I've become a party pooper.
The youthful side of me thinks the bigger booms would be awesome; the cranky old man side of me wishes people would be satisfied with snap pops, parachutes, and sparklers, with the big stuff reserved for big shows. To which the youthful side of me says: I'm not ready to be "that guy"!
Anyway, a big chunk of this discussion may be moot because Lincoln's fireworks regulations will still trump state law. Lincoln is always going to be pickier about fireworks than the state as a whole. Of course we all know that on July 3 and 4, City regulations are a joke. So although legally these changes may not directly affect us, practically speaking they will.
Where do you folks come down on this? Bigger booms for all? Fireworks are the devil's tools? Commence ranting and raving.
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Bigger booms for all. And some brave soul on the Lincoln City Council should work at amending the laws for Lincoln so all of those thousands of tax dollars the week before do not simply flow to Roca and Bennet and Waverly, etc.
Some of my fondest memories are of the bottle rocket wars we would hold in a local cemetery (headstones make for great cover). Teams of 2, one to hold the 5 ft. x 1 inch PVC tube and aim, the other person to load and light. Good times.
I missed out on bottle rocket wars, but I did get involved in a couple roman candle wars. Ahh, good times!
I am of the legalize but control crowd. The safe shooting of fireworks within a certain time period is great. However, there needs to be some limits on the books so those who stray to the obnoxious side can be forced to cease and desist.
I used to love fireworks until I moved to Lincoln. People are insane here and the last thing they need are more legal fireworks and more opportunities to use them.
The Fourth of July is a war zone in our neighborhood. That should be enough.
Well Fletch, if that happens, then Roca, Bennet, and Waverly will all be forced to build arenas to make up for the lost revenue.
My attitude is much like Mr. Wilson’s. I used to look forward to the 4th for the fireworks, but haven’t been excited much about them since I was 20 or so. I don’t exactly mind the craziness, I just choose not to participate.
The only fireworks I really like are the sparklers, and the wood ones aren’t as fun (for one thing, they tend to break off and go flying). 😛
I grew up in Southern California, where the only fireworks allowed were those snake things. Every once in a while, someone would smuggle in some sparklers and those ground flower things. So when I moved to Nebraska, I went nuts the first few years with fireworks…. then I realized what a colossal waste of money it was (It’s hard to get any closer to burning your money).
So now I buy a few packs of sparklers every year and call it good.
I think fireworks is kinda like drinking. Before you’re 21 when it’s all illegal and such, it’s much more fun to go crazy on than once it’s legal and you can do it more.
If they were a little bit more legal. Maybe people would spend all their money on the BIG booms and less on the seeming endless hours of little booms that make it impossible to drive down the rural streets 😊
For the first time in many years, this last 4th I purchased fireworks (we now have a 2 year old boy and my wife thought it would be fun). I was surprised to find out you can’t buy firecrackers in Lincoln. This seems silly since everyone in a 1000 foot radius of my house had firecrackers.
How would you feel if we allow the sale of firecrackers in Lincoln?
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