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March 20, 2009 8:44 PM

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Just another example of states coming up with creative ways to make money. Make something legal that isn't and tax the sh*t out of it. I'm all for it. It's better than raising sales taxes (I'm looking at you, California) and will aid in natural selection.

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Anonymous

March 20, 2009 8:45 PM

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Seriously, This guy is an advocate?Maybe we should ban kitchen knives because I accidentally cut myself 4 or so years ago and now there's a scar on my left hand.

Seriously though,
Banning items because some people can't handle the responsibility of using them is ridiculous. While fireworks can cause problems I think the anti fireworks movement needs someone a better spokesman than a reckless teenager who was breaking the law.

1 replies

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Optimistic Prime

March 21, 2009 12:07 PM

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@RomanaFinch: This guy is a moron, he shouldn't be advocating anyone. It's his fault he did something absolutely retarded, not the firework's fault. He did it of his own free will, he should suffer the consequences.

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billbillbillbill

March 20, 2009 8:48 PM

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I am a tad surprised they would do this with the fire danger that exists every summer in the west. Utah allows the sale of them for a brief time in July and around New years but half the state is off limits due to being close to mountains or desert. There is always a rash of brush fires caused by stupid people. Can't imagine it being any different in AZ.

2 replies

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March 20, 2009 9:58 PM

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@Plates: Hawaii.

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March 24, 2009 3:08 AM

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@rockasocky: I am not pleased by this, I lived through a forest fire in Arizona and this will just cause more of them.

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CubeRat

March 20, 2009 8:49 PM

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I dunno, there's something about shooting off legal fireworks that just doesn't seem as fun.

I find the thrill of the police stopping by your house to be a bit more enjoyable. :)

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Anonymous

March 20, 2009 8:51 PM

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But isn't that exactly the point? Stupid people do stupid things, and when you put dangerous toys in their hands, they hurt themselves and they hurt other people around them.

Who do you imagine paid for those 30 surgeries and all those skin grafts? If you have insurance, you helped pay for it through your exorbitant health insurance premiums. If this chucklehead didn't have insurance and was covered by AHCSS, Arizona's answer to Medicaid, then your taxes paid for his care.

Really. Do you want to pay for another chucklehead's medical care? I don't.

Even more to the point: Chuckleheads tend to have lots of children. They think fireworks are toys, and they give them to the kiddies. One of my junior high friends was blinded playing with fireworks. So in addition to paying for that kid's medical care, we taxpayers also get to foot the permanent, lifelong disability payments for him.

How, please, is that a creative way for a state to make money?

5 replies

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shepd

March 23, 2009 4:10 PM

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@VilhelmGoldfinch:

Don't go down that road. Elsewhere, where you pay for everyone's medical care via taxes, that excuse comes up all the time, and it becomes ridiculous. The quickest way to shut up someone gabbing about how his taxes/insurance premiums pay for idiots healthcare?

Ask him if he prefers to drive to work*. If the answer is yes, you can now state that people like him are the leading cause of accidental injury hospital visits.

* - Not valid for those non-driving hippies, grrrr...

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Anonymous

March 21, 2009 7:05 PM

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@VilhelmGoldfinch:

So the rest of should suffer because some people are stupid? Yes people do stupid things, yes the tax payer might have to pay a bit for it. But to claim that the rest of us should be banned from activities because of this is rather dumb.

I also pay for the health of people who are too stupid to drive safely (speed, talking on their porta-phones, etc), ergo driving should be illegal.

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March 21, 2009 1:15 AM

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@VilhelmGoldfinch: You'd save even more tax payer money by banning motorcycles and butter. Are you up for that, too?

With all that extra tax money maybe the government can buy us all a Ben the Michelin man suits to protect us against stairs, bees, and skin cancer.

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Baron Von Crogs

March 23, 2009 11:07 AM

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Or the dogs with bees in their mouth and when they bark they shoot bees at you.

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Troy Hardin

March 21, 2009 7:52 AM

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@Yossarian: Thanks Yossarian-if you wouldn't of said that, I would of. Goldfinch=pwnd

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humphrmi

March 20, 2009 8:53 PM

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My brother used to be hooked up with the Melrose Park mob. Not a member, just a friend of the head of it. He got us some great aerials, which he let us set off in the parking lot of his warehouse. One cop came by and asked us how we liked the fireworks - since he was the one that got them for us.

Yeah, fireworks laws do a lot of good.

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March 20, 2009 8:53 PM

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\"I've had 30 surgeries, plenty of skin grafts,\" said Crosbie, now 23. \"I guess you could say I'm scarred for life because of this.\"

Uhh, no. You're scarred for life because of your stupidity.

There is a difference.

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cromartie

March 20, 2009 8:53 PM

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In fire danger states, there's probably a point to not legalizing them.

As for the rest of the country, there are fewer better darwin tools than fireworks and alcohol.

Go for it.

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March 20, 2009 9:00 PM

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How about the idea of personal liability?

You want to go play with fireworks? Well fine, your body does, after all, belong to you and not to the government so why should they be able to say what you can and can't do?

I say legalize it and let people be responsible for their own choices.

2 replies

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MadameX

March 20, 2009 9:15 PM

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@ShadyPghGuy: That's easy to say but what happens when some idiot burns *your* house down?

As an Arizona resident, I respectfully object. It's very dry here, and there are far too many stupid people.

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VA_White

March 20, 2009 9:12 PM

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@ShadyPghGuy: It's not about personal safety - it's about the very real risk of huge devastating wildfires. I don't give a crap if Joe Bob wants to blow his own hands off but when his smoking flesh alights a massive brush fire that threatens my house, then it's most certainly my business. And the state's business.

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Jeff Andros

March 20, 2009 9:02 PM

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we're definitely not a state I'd want fireworks in... just ask the Town of Williams ([www.anntorrence.com])... and they're in the north country where they don't even have to worry about buffelgrass.

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Plates

March 20, 2009 9:08 PM

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Why would any state even have legalized fireworks?
Every summer the NJ State Police blows up mannequins to give some nice B-roll to TV stations and to show how dangerous fireworks are. What sort of backward hick state would have legalized fireworks?

3 replies

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opsomath

March 21, 2009 6:37 PM

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@Plates: Wow, way to insult millions of people. Thanks, guy.

Incidentally, every Southern state I have ever lived in (4) has some level of legal fireworks. While asshat above may think this proves his point, I am rather proud of Dixie for retaining your right to blow yourself up if you so desire...since it's humid enough down here that you're unlikely to burn down the entire state of Georgia.

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March 21, 2009 12:28 AM

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@Plates: California...

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corbyz

March 20, 2009 10:08 PM

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@Plates: Backward hick state?

I grew up in Minnesota and we used to pick up some fireworks and have fun with them every summer. I never had any big stuff, but things like bottle rockets and black cats were just fun.

Now I live in Arizona and I just thought it was a fire danger thing because of all the dried out plants here.

I'm averse to a lot of things you might consider \"hick state\" stuff... but I never really counted fireworks as one of them.

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Robert Boyd

March 20, 2009 9:08 PM

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ShadyPghGuy

How about the idea of personal liability?

You want to go play with fireworks? Well fine, your body does, after all, belong to you and not to the government so why should they be able to say what you can and can't do?

I say legalize it and let people be responsible for their own choices.
============================================
That'd be fine if only people shooting off fireworks were put at risk by their activity. But because of the fire hazard of fireworks (and the tendency of rockets and roman candles to travel long distances), the risk is not just to the user but to the community as a whole. Especially in a hot dry state like Arizona. If fireworks are legal and my neighborhood burns down on the 4th of July, who is \"personally responsible\"?

(That said, I see no serious problem with fireworks being legal in damp climates outside of densely developed areas.)

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deadandy

March 20, 2009 9:09 PM

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Terrible idea, from an Arizonan. I love fireworks, but everyone knows that when kids get a hold of some bottle-rockets, it's only a matter of time before you're shooting them at your buddies instead of into the air. One errant shot could end up in a dried-up creosote and whoosh!

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B

March 20, 2009 9:09 PM

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@Shady: And if somebody shoots off fireworks and burns your house down, what then?

1 replies

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March 21, 2009 1:17 AM

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@B: And if someone throws a lit cigarette out of a car and burns down your house, what then?

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VA_White

March 20, 2009 9:10 PM

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That is idiotic. July 4th is in the middle of the wrost of fire season. Every year the city-supervised fireworks display sets A mountain on fire in Tucson - and that is with firetrucks and \"professionals\" running the show.

Billy Bob and beer and fireworks out in Marana will set the whole damn state on fire. They can't even keep people from tossing lit cigarettes out of cars. They are not going to be able to get people to use fireworks safely.

Where is Janet when you need her?

2 replies

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lockdog

March 20, 2009 11:25 PM

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@VA_White: The hottest, most hellish days of my life were spent dragging 4-0 cable and hose through a giant asphalt parking lot one early July in downtown Tucson. I was working for the company doing a Independence Day laser show instead of the usual fireworks because of the fire danger. It was 117 in the shade, and I am confident there were places out in that lot where the asphalt was starting to melt from the heat. I also drove the truck (from Orlando) to Tucson and my one clear memory of that drive was pulling off at night in hotel parking lots and never really being sure if I was in a gravel parking lot, or just gravel desert. I'll never understand why human beings intentionally live in such inhospitable places.

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Corporate-Shill

March 20, 2009 10:55 PM

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I believe she is in Wishington DC. And no, that ain't no spelling error.

Everybody say after me: Term Limits for Congress are good.

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metaled

March 20, 2009 9:16 PM

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Hell Yeah, We won't have to drive all the way to AVI res. NV or stateline NV (Don't remember the town, you can buy, but illegal to set them off anywhere in the city) anymore! Ok, Flame ON....

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March 20, 2009 9:18 PM

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I live in Tucson - this is a terrible idea. We constantly have fire alerts and wild fires. This, in my opinion, would only increase the danger.

1 replies

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Corporate-Shill

March 20, 2009 10:53 PM

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You own a hose? Have an exterior faucet connected to the hose? Then what is your problem?

Sorry for the sarcasm.

Damn right it is a fire danger! Hope somebody gets some smarts real quick.

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deadandy

March 20, 2009 9:24 PM

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Of course, the Arizona legislature put severe limits on direct wine shipments to residents to appease state wineries. It's not a stretch that they are removing the ban on fireworks to appease some business or another. That's what you get with a Republican legislature: businesses first, citizens last. And students extra-last.

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March 20, 2009 9:32 PM

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Who cares if they are dangerous, they are ANNOYING. Anyone who didn't light the fuse isn't so amused by burning cardboard falling from the sky and the loud noise that soon follows.

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March 20, 2009 9:38 PM

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Finally, but a little too late for me to make any use of it! Do you know how many times as a kid I traveled to New Mexico/Texas to purchase tons and tons of fireworks and then bring them back to Tucson and launch them off all over my neighborhood and desert? My dad was the driver! Never had a fire issue. You know, fire + being safe = good time, fire + carelessness = scarred for life. I'd say that shooting fireworks out of your car is careless. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, mainly because that would be pretty hypocritical of me =)

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March 20, 2009 9:50 PM

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Yet this guy can legally get a gun :-)

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dangerp

March 20, 2009 9:58 PM

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Give a man fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life.

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sir_pantsalot

March 20, 2009 10:01 PM

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Due to death of Jennifer Strange I think we should ban the sale and consumption of water in AZ.

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JayDeEm

March 20, 2009 10:15 PM

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The problem with the 'safe' consumer fireworks is that it does not take much to modify them into something not so safe whose name should never be repeated by anyone ever. Like any normal teenage boy I went though my pyro phase and only out of pure luck did I survive (mostly) un-injured. Now that I live in the Phoenix area I can't even imagine legalizing any type of fireworks, especially during our hottest and driest time of year. So now I'm going to pull my grumpy suburban thirty-something card and hope that they keep the ban in place.

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March 20, 2009 10:24 PM

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@billbillbillbill

i live in one of those \"hick\" states, indiana. in fact, nearly all fireworks are legal here. there was a story a few years ago about a family who made their own fireworks, and the addition on their house blew up, luckily no one was hurt. otherwise, people around here seem to understand how to use fireworks. just like they understand guns. the \"hicks\" around here take responsibility for their actions.

watch the way you refer to people. this \"hick\" just might have to save your life someday.....

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Greasy Thumb Guzik

March 21, 2009 2:28 PM

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@aliasmisskat:
As a resident of the backward nanny state of Illinois, I say thank you to Indiana & that intersection that has Phantom Fireworks & Crazy Kaplan's across the street from each other!

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MrEvil

March 20, 2009 10:39 PM

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Missouri has those year-round megastores and I don't hear of too many kids in Missouri being maimed or killed by fireworks. The biggest concerns here in Texas are setting off wild-fires with bottle rockets and roman candles.

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Corporate-Shill

March 20, 2009 10:51 PM

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OWTF there ain't much green stuff in the state to burn down and besides most people have an exterior faucet connected to a hose to put out the fire starting on their roof.

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Trai_Dep

March 20, 2009 11:05 PM

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Fireworks Safety Tip #1
When Mom rounds the corner, seconds away from busting you playing with lit sparklers in spite of her firm warnings not to, do not hide the lit sparkler down your pants.
Unless you're really good at maintaining a straight face.

1 replies

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March 21, 2009 10:38 AM

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@Trai_Dep: There's scarred for life, and then there's scarred for life. Ouch.

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rockergal

March 20, 2009 11:50 PM

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eh, people should learn to be accountable for themselves.
If you are too stupid to set off a piece of firework right, you deserve to be scarred.

On a side note, anyone ever notice that the Human race is the only species where \"survival of the fittest, strongest, and smartest\" is completely un-applicable???
sad really...

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TEW

March 21, 2009 12:42 AM

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Good for the state. The nanny state experiment needs to stop so we can live our life with freedom.

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Morticia

March 21, 2009 1:09 AM

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If it was just the idiots that were getting maimed through their actions with fireworks I'd be fine, but unfortunately there are often other people and animals that end up victims of fireworks. The carnage and cost far is just not worth it.

Have a community organised firework show by all means, but personally I don't quite see the attraction of a few flashes going off in the sky.

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TimW077

March 21, 2009 1:36 AM

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Mode=Humor
Make America Stronger Through Natural Selection!
Allow (and encourage) stupid people to remove themselves from the gene pool.

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March 21, 2009 2:07 AM

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@Plates: Statistically, cars are far more dangerous than fireworks. What sort of backward hick state would legalize driving?

But seriously, you can kill yourself with anything if you're stupid enough. Unless it's an environmental hazard (area is too dry or something similar), fireworks are just plain fun.

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fatcop

March 21, 2009 2:25 AM

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When is the push back going to come when we the people get the goddamn government out of our business???

I already have a 50/50 partnership in life with the government, yet they want to encroach more and more.

Fuck that.

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lauy

March 21, 2009 4:35 AM

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As a resident of Arizona for the last 26 years, and of Gilbert, AZ, where Rep. Biggs apparently represents (though I have never heard of him) for 8 years, this is a very scary thought. I do NOT give a shout out to my city on this one.

Rep. Biggs probably thinks fireworks = a wholesome family activity. FAIL.

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March 21, 2009 4:39 AM

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I don't think I've ever met an anti-fireworks type, except the cops driving up and down every street ruining people's fun on the 4th of July (the only day America even feels patriotic). Just legalize it and let people be responsible for their own choices.

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March 21, 2009 4:03 PM

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I'm not a fan of legalizing fireworks in states with rampant forest fires or general desert conditions. I've seen too many days of ash raining from the sky to tempt fate

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DoodlestheGreat

March 21, 2009 5:39 PM

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I'd have to say that the potential for environmental damage is a better reason not to allow fireworks sales in AZ, at least of anything that can shoot into the air. Of course, individual counties & municipalities should be allowed to regulate things more strictly as needed.

Then again, this is AZ.

As for letting Moron Boy act as a spokesman... o_O

Folks are going to look at his example and go, \"But I'm not that stupid!\" and then go off and get their own stuff.

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March 21, 2009 9:54 PM

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I'm all for giving idiots the tools to harm themselves. This could be the greatest evolutionary disruption since that asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs.

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March 23, 2009 1:18 AM

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Right, because people don't use fireworks because they're illegal. So legalizing them will lead to an increase in fireworks usage, and people will use them in more reckless ways.

Do people always lack common sense?

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jimmy37

March 23, 2009 4:31 PM

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Srry, stpd s s stpd ds. Th pr dt tht gt hmslf brnd shld cnsdr hmslf lcky tht smn ddn't gt ht r klld wth hs frwrks. nmnt hm s Drwn wrd rnnr-p.

Th lbrtrn n m sys tht s lng s th frwrks wrk s thy shld nd r prprly lbld, thy shld b lgl. grw p wth frcrckrs nd cmpltly ndrstd thr pwr t dstry. Sr, s dmb kds, w tk chncs, bt wh dsn't?

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March 24, 2009 3:07 AM

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Bad, Bad, Bad idea. Arizona is not all desert, they have a lot of mountains with trees and the place has been in a drought for the last decade. Do they want a repeat of the Rodeo Chediski fire?

[en.wikipedia.org]

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March 24, 2009 6:23 PM

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Stupid people are going to find ways to kill, maim, or scar themselves for life no matter how much we regulate. Let other people have their fireworks.

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July 2, 2011 11:52 PM

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My town used to allow us to do fireworks at our local lake, but then they banned it because it wasn't safe.

Now everyone fires them off in their backyard, streets and parks all over town, but nice to know we are \"safe\".

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