Perhaps the most widely known fact about me is that I am blind. It happened because of a farm accident when I was a young boy. At first losing my sight was a big adjustment, but I have grown used to living my life without the fortune of enjoying a crisp, cloudless night under the stars or a summer day at a baseball game.
I also can’t enjoy fireworks on the Fourth of July. Like you, I love spending time with my family to celebrate Independence Day. Sometimes we head to the lake for games or barbecues. Sometimes we just stay in town, enjoying lemonade and good conversation. But no matter where we are, we find a place for my kids to watch fireworks. Sometimes we go to a city display, sometimes we light them off ourselves.
For many of us, the novelty sparklers allowed under current law are simply lame. They are toys made to impress only the youngest children, but the “cool” factor quickly wears off with age. That you can’t buy anything larger in Minnesota is just another example of government treating responsible adults like children; they are telling you that you can’t be trusted with anything beyond a children’s toy.
I have a bill that would tell you we do trust you. It would relax our fireworks ban, allowing responsible adults to buy and use aerial fireworks between June 1 and July 7 each year.
You might be wondering why I, as a blind man, care about legalizing fireworks. After all, they don’t benefit me – unless you count listening to the excited “oohs” and “aahs” of my friends and family on the Fourth of July.
But legalizing fireworks is about much more than a simple celebration. It’s about freedom.
Like the debate about Sunday liquor sales, the effort to repeal the fireworks ban boils down to stopping government from micromanaging your life and leaving you alone just a little bit more.
We trust you to consume a few adult beverages, own firearms, or drive a car. Like each of those things, fireworks are as safe as the people using them. In most cases, that means very safe; in 2013, less than one-half of one percent of fires in Minnesota were caused by fireworks.
It’s an activity that we have no reason to criminalize. Aerial fireworks may be illegal in Minnesota, but make no mistake – they are already here, widely used by thousands of Minnesotans. The fireworks ban is one of the least-enforced major laws that we have. Every year, border towns in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin collect millions of dollars in revenue from Minnesotans who cross the border to buy fireworks. That revenue should benefit Minnesotans, not South Dakotans or Wisconsinites. Instead taking a day to drive across the border to get fireworks, you should be able to drive down the road. You should be able to support a small business owned and operated by your neighbors.
It’s such a simple idea that even in our divisive political environment it has wide support from both Republicans and Democrats; in 2012, this same bill passed the Senate by a vote of 48-17 before being vetoed by the governor. We are trying to work with Gov. Dayton to remedy his concerns from two years ago, and I am optimistic he will be on board.
With Republicans in control of the House, and Democrats in control of the Senate and the governor’s office, both parties will have trouble passing many of their biggest, boldest ideas. But we can still pass common sense, bipartisan improvements to state law that give you more say over what you want to do with your life.
My bill doesn’t mandate Minnesotans buy certain fireworks. We’re simply saying if you want to shoot them off, shoot them off; if you don’t, that’s fine too. We trust you to make that decision for yourself.
Perhaps the most widely known fact about me is that I am blind. It happened because of a farm accident when I was a young boy. At first losing my sight was a big adjustment, but I have grown used to living my life without the fortune of enjoying a crisp, cloudless night under the stars or a summer day at a baseball game.
