Iowa’s fireworks debate still smolders

It's been 76 Independence Days since Iowa banned the sale and use of most types of fireworks. Thanks to that law, peace and domestic tranquility reign each July 4, he types sarcastically.

But will this be the last one?

I doubt it. The status quo is perhaps the most powerful force under our Capitol's gilded dome of endless wisdom.

But ban-scrappers probably have more momentum now than they've had in a long while. The issue was taken seriously at the Statehouse last session before stalling. And the debate continues.

'Prohibition doesn't work, and we know there are a lot of other consumer products that are more unsafe than fireworks,” state Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, told The Des Moines Register's Jason Noble. 'It's time to recognize that our current law is kind of silly and bring it into the 21st century.”

Over at watchdog.org, state Rep. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, also supports ending the ban, citing a desire to keep dollars from flowing over the border to Missouri or South Dakota. The Quad-City Times launched an editorial with the headline 'Stop the fireworks charade.”

'The reality is that tens of thousands of Iowans and Illinoisans safely use fireworks in violation of these ignored laws,” the paper wrote.

It's true that Iowa's ban is routinely ignored. Breaking the law by selling or lighting off fireworks is a simple misdemeanor, but enforcement is hardly zealous. Fireworks by the truckload are available just over the state line.

Safety advocates argue lifting the ban would lead to injuries. And it's true that, nationally, fireworks injuries jumped from 8,700 in 2012 to 11,400 in 2013, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But as the statistical analysis website fivethirtyeight.com points out, the number of injuries per 100,000 people increased from 2.8 to just 3.6. Less scary.

And, when the site looked at different data from the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission, the number of injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks consumed has declined from 38.3 in 1976 to 6.1 last year, up from 4.1 in 2012.

Last year, acccording to the CPSC, 7,400 injuries occurred between June 21 and July 21, with half sustained by people 19 and younger. But 2,300 injuries were attributed to sparklers, which are legal in Iowa.

One problem for proponents of ending the ban is the power of anecdotes within those big picture numbers. In the latest, on Friday night, chief meteorologist Dave Rexroth of WXYZ TV in Detroit lost sight in his left eye in a fireworks accident while he and his family were vacationing in Iowa City. Opponents of lifting the ban contend these kinds of serious injuries would happen more often if fireworks are easier to obtain.

That's valid. But the reality is, illegal use already is widespread. I doubt allowing Iowans to buy firecrackers or bottle rockets would spark a major spike in injuries. Like Danielson says, Iowans are free to legally live dangerously in all sorts of ways that make fireworks look pretty tame by comparison.

Still, I doubt skittish lawmakers will light the fuse.

The ban is an antique law they can criticize, but clearly don't own. Vote to drop it, let loose the Roman candles, and lawmakers own any consequences. Anything's possible with legislators, but I bet most will opt to keep the issue at a good safe distance.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com