nds76
01-13-2007, 8:05pm
(Fort Wayne - WANE) For some people fireworks are fun, but for others they are annoying. Now, three State Representatives want to change when you can set them off.
Last year Indiana enacted a new law that allows people to set off fireworks all year long from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. and until midnight on holidays.
"That law is an atrocity," Democratic Representative Win Moses said. "It's the worst I've ever seen, the worst in the nation. It puts too many kids at risk and houses in danger and it needs to be taken down."
Moses, along with democrat Rep. Phil GiaQuinta and republican Rep. Phyllis Pond, will introduce a new fireworks bill on Tuesday. The bill would only allow fireworks to be set off five days a year:
December 31: Noon to 1 a.m.
January 1: Noon to midnight
July 3, July 4, July 5: Noon to midnight
"This allows us to celebrate American holidays, people can have a good time, but the rest of the year, we need to respect our neighbors," Moses said.
All three representatives say people in their districts have been complaining about the noise from fireworks.
"Parents have told me they cannot get their kids to sleep because it is so loud. Shut-ins have called me to say that they are terrified that they are under attack," Pond said.
A bill in the Senate would trump the current fireworks law and move the power to local government. Moses said he would prefer a state-wide law rather than letting local governments create individual laws.
"Wherever you go, you know what the fireworks laws are," Moses said. "You can go to Angola, or Auburn, or Fort Wayne, you know you're doing it at a legal time."
GiaQuinta added that he thought the last legislature had good intentions, but the law needs to be changed.
"Whether it's done at the local or state level, the law needs to be changed to satisfy those who want to celebrate the Fourth of July and those who want to live in a quiet neighborhood," GiaQuinta said.
In the bill, people who violate the fireworks law would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor.
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=5932456
Last year Indiana enacted a new law that allows people to set off fireworks all year long from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. and until midnight on holidays.
"That law is an atrocity," Democratic Representative Win Moses said. "It's the worst I've ever seen, the worst in the nation. It puts too many kids at risk and houses in danger and it needs to be taken down."
Moses, along with democrat Rep. Phil GiaQuinta and republican Rep. Phyllis Pond, will introduce a new fireworks bill on Tuesday. The bill would only allow fireworks to be set off five days a year:
December 31: Noon to 1 a.m.
January 1: Noon to midnight
July 3, July 4, July 5: Noon to midnight
"This allows us to celebrate American holidays, people can have a good time, but the rest of the year, we need to respect our neighbors," Moses said.
All three representatives say people in their districts have been complaining about the noise from fireworks.
"Parents have told me they cannot get their kids to sleep because it is so loud. Shut-ins have called me to say that they are terrified that they are under attack," Pond said.
A bill in the Senate would trump the current fireworks law and move the power to local government. Moses said he would prefer a state-wide law rather than letting local governments create individual laws.
"Wherever you go, you know what the fireworks laws are," Moses said. "You can go to Angola, or Auburn, or Fort Wayne, you know you're doing it at a legal time."
GiaQuinta added that he thought the last legislature had good intentions, but the law needs to be changed.
"Whether it's done at the local or state level, the law needs to be changed to satisfy those who want to celebrate the Fourth of July and those who want to live in a quiet neighborhood," GiaQuinta said.
In the bill, people who violate the fireworks law would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor.
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=5932456