Strong action needed on fireworks

Ever since Pennsylvania enacted legislation that legalized more potent fireworks in 2017, there has been an outcry from people across the state.

The use of pyrotechnics, legal or otherwise, long had been a seasonal annoyance in many communities. But the broad availability of noisier fireworks that can go airborne led to an explosion of grievances.

First responders noted an increase in fires and fire-related deaths due to the expanded use of these devices. Though the law prohibits lighting fireworks near buildings, that rule is widely ignored. Especially at the height of the fireworks season around the Fourth of July, police are spread thin trying to respond to all the complaints from neighbors who consider extreme late-night noise nothing to celebrate.

But after five years, the law remains in effect and unchanged despite protests from people of all political stripes and residing in all manner of communities.

A big part of the problem is that the fireworks law raises revenue for the state via a tax on purchases of the legalized pyrotechnics. Lawmakers are reluctant to give up a source of funding that isn’t an unpopular broad-based tax. Another issue is that many legislators in the least populated parts of the state don’t seem to understand how big a problem this is in cities and suburbs, most of which don’t have any places where it’s safe to shoot fireworks and where people live in close proximity and can’t avoid hearing the noise.

For many it’s more than just a nuisance. The noise generated by fireworks poses problems for families with young children, many older people and veterans dealing with anxiety. And this time of year can be a nightmare for households with dogs.

The good news is that lawmakers finally are making progress on legislation that would amend the law. The bad news is that it falls far short of addressing the problem.

Legislation approved by the House and recently advanced by a Senate committee would allow municipalities to regulate where fireworks could be detonated and require a permit to buy fireworks. The bill would also require a license to sell fireworks and place restrictions on facilities that sell them, and retailers would not be allowed to sell fireworks to minors or people under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The problem is that as long as potent fireworks are available on area store shelves, these other restrictions are unlikely to have much of an impact. Giving municipalities more power to enact ordinances on fireworks is fine, but police still will face an impossible task trying to enforce them, just as they do now when it comes to the rules now in place.

We applaud lawmakers such as state Sen. Judy Schwank of Berks County. She has been sounding the alarm about this from the start and is still calling for stronger measures than what’s being contemplated.

Schwank has introduced legislation to repeal the 2017 changes to the fireworks law. We support that effort. As long as dangerous fireworks are easily available, the problems will continue.

Repealing the law seems impossible in the current political environment in Harrisburg, which makes us wonder what it will take to make people really take this issue seriously.

These fireworks have caused death and injury along with serious fires, including one in a Reading elementary school.

It’s easy to say that we should just let people have fun and celebrate, but there need to be limits in the interest of public safety and consideration for neighbors.

We fear that if the legislation under consideration becomes law, that will end any momentum toward addressing this issue, at least until a tragedy strikes that finally gets the right people’s attention. It would be much better to truly correct state leaders’ 2017 mistake before that happens.

Meanwhile the law remains the same, but people still have the ultimate power to address this issue by celebrating in a manner that’s safe and considerate. We urge readers to keep that in mind.