Ooh! Ahh! A Statehouse fireworks debate looms

Election night rattled nerves, kept us up until the wee hours and may even have scared a few dogs. So it makes sense such an election could yield legal fireworks in Iowa.

Maybe you noticed Republicans will take control of the Iowa Legislature. Perhaps you've read aspects of how the new majority's agenda will have a decidedly libertarian feel. There are calls to consider loosening restrictions on guns. They're going take a stab at outlawing those Big Brother speed cameras. And its likely they're going to make another run at ending a ban on most types of fireworks, a prohibition on the books since Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House.

Put it all together and you've potentially got the Vroom Bang Boom Act of 2017. The bill signing ceremony could really be something. Please, stand no closer than 500 feet.

I'm betting fireworks will be a hot issue. One of many, of course, and other Statehouse actions will be more important. But suggesting folks should be allowed to legally shoot off bottle rockets, Roman candles and firecrackers will spark the sort of public debate where everybody has an opinion, some explosive. Playing with fire, these lawmakers.

Speaking of fire, Iowa legislators banned the sale of fireworks back in 1938 after two big fires, both ignited by careless sparkler-dropping kids, devastated Spencer in 1931 and Remsen in 1936. In 1937, 24 fireworks-related deaths and injuries were reported in Iowa.

Most fireworks banned back then remain illegal to sell to this day, with a few exceptions. Sparklers are OK, along with caps and those lame snakes. But fireworks stands selling much, much more sit mere yards across the border in Missouri and South Dakota.

According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 10,500 people were injured by fireworks nationally in 2014, with 7,000 of those cases coming between June 20 and July 20. Among those summer injuries, nearly 1 in 5 were caused by sparklers, with firecrackers of all types accounting for another 20 percent.

Eleven deaths were reported. Most involved misuse and mishandling of fireworks, but not all. An elderly Ohio couple, for example, died in a house fire sparked by debris from fireworks shot off in their neighborhood. Horrible, to be sure.

But spend a little time on the CPSC website and you'll find out 385 people died riding ATVs in 2014. Between 2008 and 2010, on average, more than 43,000 people went to emergency rooms annually because TVs, furniture or appliances fell on them. In 2013, 531,340 people were injured on bicycles. In 2014, toys injured 251,800 kids. Don't get me started on shopping carts.

I support scrapping Iowa's fireworks ban, at least to allow the sale of small, consumer-grade stuff mentioned above. And I've caught plenty of flak, even some red glares. My insensitivity, I've been told, knows no bounds. I'm intent on bringing injury, trauma and fear to the landscape.

Actually, I am very sensitive to those concerns. But the current law is largely unenforced. Thousands of Iowans already shoot off fireworks without consequence. We get all the bang while all the bucks go to surrounding states where sales are legal.

Fireworks can be perfectly safe if used responsibly and according to instructions. I get that some people misuse them, which is a problem. But outlawing dumb is rarely successful. And in a state were adults are legally permitted to own, operate and consume all sorts of potentially dangerous products, why can't I be trusted with a pack of Whistling Moon Travelers? What if I promise to wear a helmet?

Even if consumer fireworks become legal, we can still craft laws and ordinances targeting conduct constituting a public safety or public disturbance problem. Some laws already are on the books. We can regulate and educate as we see fit, short of sticking to 1930s-era prohibition.

Maybe there's room for a compromise. CPSC data shows 74 percent of fireworks-related injuries in 2014 were sustained by males. Perhaps legal fireworks In Iowa could be sold only to females, or males accompanied by a responsible female, while women would be the only ones legally authorized to light the fuse. My wife says this is a proposal worth discussing.