Letter: Fireworks legislation is too vague

Was it the intent of the Iowa State legislature to lull Iowans to sleep that live in its larger cities like Cedar Rapids by getting used to fireworks going off day and night and the Fourth of July still is days away? Was it their intent for city dwellers to get used to fire crackers, cherry bombs and larger explosions going off in our neighborhoods at all hours of the day and night? People shooting off fireworks so close to our homes that it will hard to distinguish the fire works from gunshots, becoming so accustomed to the sound of fireworks going off that we no longer report real gunshots to the police when we hear them. Will the revenue generated by the legal sale of fireworks be worth someone's house accidentally catching fire because of someone recklessly shooting off fire works or someone's child losing an eye or a limb or being burned because they didn't know how to safely use fire works? These and other questions come to mind as I listen to the constant pop, pop, boom of fireworks going off.

The law/resolution that allows the legal sale of fire works is too vague. The public needs clear cut directions as to where, when, and how legal fireworks can be used and by whom. I don't think that's too much to ask of our government officials to make sure that people are safe and everyone's rights are being respected.

Stephen Canty

Cedar Rapids