Should fireworks be banned?

[Safe-Keeper]

So the Netherlands just banned fireworks, and 39 Norwegian municipalities are considering implementing a ban, with a large majority of the population in support of a fan. This is in response to all the material damage and injuries each year, as well as all the suffering for pets and wild animals. Personally, I'm 100% in favour of a ban. Restricting fireworks to just public fireworks show works as a compromise to me, but I expect that all fireworks in Norway will be banned eventually.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Agreed, except I'd just go for a ban. Replace them with drone light shows, less disruption and risk, more spectacle.

 

[rjh01]

There should be only one or two public displays a year put on my the local government. If drone light shows can replace them then do so. Fireworks have been banned where I am for years.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Yep, they're banned in Australia, have been banned for decades. We just have public displays on special occasions, needing licences and permits.

Even so, some people with jumpy pets would prefer we didn't have them at all.

Plus, there are other people who think the public displays are a waste of money.

 

[Darat]

Agreed, except I'd just go for a ban. Replace them with drone light shows, less disruption and risk, more spectacle.

This!

 

[Safe-Keeper]

This!

Yeah, I mean, if we can go straight for a ban of course I'm all for that. I just have a feeling it'd be easier to get political support if there's public fireworks shows, at least in the short term.

 

[stanfr]

I dunno about bans, just enforce the laws that ban them locally (which they don't) We had to spend New Years eve comforting our two rescue mutts cause they were terrified by the industrial grade fireworks being set off (illegally) in our neighborhood. Total ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

 

[Skeptical Greg]

No, just stricter penalties when something goes wrong.

Start a fire. 5- 10..
Kill someone. 10 - 20.
Stress out a cat or dog. 4 Weeks public service.
etc., etc., etc..

 

[novaphile]

I'm in favour of a total ban.

People seem to be overlooking the risks to the workers that manufacture them, not to mention the environmental damage from every display.

As for people setting of illegal fireworks, causing fires, I'd suggest 10 years mandatory prison sentence for the first offence, and doubling per offence after that.

 

[theprestige]

I could care less, but it would take more effort than making this post.

Sorry about all your anxious pets, though. I won't complain if you get the policies you want.

 

[Trausti]

This is so funny. The pretext for banning fireworks is general safety, blah, blah, blah. That pretext is to hide all the damage wrought by migrants and other immigrants who have nothing but contempt for Europeans.

Netherlands police face 'unprecedented' New Year's violence

The head of the Dutch Police Union, Nine Kooiman, said she had been pelted by fireworks and other explosives on her shift in Amsterdam.

The amount of violence was "unprecedented" she said.

Reports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread across the country.

 

[arthwollipot]

Unprecedented violence is "so funny"?

Dude, are you okay?

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Unless you need to cleanse your home of ghosts, there is no legitimate use of fireworks

 

[lionking]

Yep, they're banned in Australia, have been banned for decades. We just have public displays on special occasions, needing licences and permits.

Even so, some people with jumpy pets would prefer we didn't have them at all.

Plus, there are other people who think the public displays are a waste of money.

I’m old enough to remember “Cracker Night” (which may or may not have been on Guy Fawkes Day). It was behind only Christmas in my childhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Children could go to the local newsagent and buy “tuppenney bungers” which were powerful enough to destroy letterboxes when dropped in them. Or alternatively blow off a finger or two if not deployed quickly enough.

A different era of course. But it’s still easily enough to buy now illegal fireworks.

Keep them for major events. Fireworks going off over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House are awesome.

 

[Darat]

This is so funny. The pretext for banning fireworks is general safety, blah, blah, blah. That pretext is to hide all the damage wrought by migrants and other immigrants who have nothing but contempt for Europeans.

Netherlands police face 'unprecedented' New Year's violence

I don't live in the Netherlands, a ban in my country will have no effect in the Netherlands.

Whilst I said I'd support a ban, I'd be happy to see a ban just on the noisy ones, it's the noise that is the problem.

 

[a_unique_person]

Yep, they're banned in Australia, have been banned for decades. We just have public displays on special occasions, needing licences and permits.

Even so, some people with jumpy pets would prefer we didn't have them at all.

Plus, there are other people who think the public displays are a waste of money.

They aren't banned in the NT. So every year they get someone who has blown up his rectum.

 

[Lukraak_Sisser]

This is so funny. The pretext for banning fireworks is general safety, blah, blah, blah. That pretext is to hide all the damage wrought by migrants and other immigrants who have nothing but contempt for Europeans.

Netherlands police face 'unprecedented' New Year's violence

I live in the Netherlands, and while there are also migrants or dutch with a migration background involved, most of the aggression at new year comes from the people who vote to evict all migrants.
The 'good old fashioned dutch' who are upset they cannot do as they please on new years, like lighting massive fires that have burned down houses in the past etc etc.

But I'm mainly in favor of the ban for two reasons.
1: High explosives and drinking is a bad idea
2: The people who so love their fireworks to set them off also hate cleaning up, leaving streets littered with junk and often broken glass for days.

 

[Darat]

I’m old enough to remember “Cracker Night” (which may or may not have been on Guy Fawkes Day). It was behind only Christmas in my childhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Children could go to the local newsagent and buy “tuppenney bungers” which were powerful enough to destroy letterboxes when dropped in them. Or alternatively blow off a finger or two if not deployed quickly enough.

A different era of course. But it’s still easily enough to buy now illegal fireworks.

Keep them for major events. Fireworks going off over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House are awesome.

I think one of the problems is that people can buy expensive but affordable BIG fireworks these days. When I was a kid people bought a box of fireworks, you'd get two rockets, a Catherine wheel, a traffic light, and a couple of other types, the whole lot would be gone in about 10 minutes; they were all rather pathetic compared to what people can easily buy these days!

The other issue is when they are used, again as a kid they were pretty much confined to the one night you had your own, i.e. Guy Fawkes night and the big New Year public displays. Today people will have them for weddings, birthdays and the like.

I'm lucky as I never have had pets that have been particularly upset by fireworks, but if you do have pets that are upset by them it's no longer possible to plan for just the two bad nights in the year.

With new technology you can have amazing displays without the drawbacks so why wouldn't we move to that? Fireworks have had their time.

 

[Dabop]

I don't live in the Netherlands, a ban in my country will have no effect in the Netherlands.

Whilst I said I'd support a ban, I'd be happy to see a ban just on the noisy ones, it's the noise that is the problem.

Fireworks displays (like New Years for example) are totally banned here atm (although large public displays are allowed under licence- lighting fireworks off in the middle of the bush in a dry summer is considered a 'bad idea' so they had a drone display instead)

Only licenced operators can use them and I'm not sure how much longer even they will be allowed...
Personal fireworks have been banned here since I was a kid....

 

[arthwollipot]

Yeah though I'm not as old as lionking ( ) I remember fireworks night. It was always the Queen's Birthday weekend. We used to be able to fire off rockets, and those ones you weren't supposed to hold in your hand but someone always did, that shot coloured balls, to the Roman candles and catherine wheels.

But now because we live in a Nanny State™, we're not allowed to any more.

 

[lionking]

Yeah though I'm not as old as lionking ( ) I remember fireworks night. It was always the Queen's Birthday weekend. We used to be able to fire off rockets, and those ones you weren't supposed to hold in your hand but someone always did, that shot coloured balls, to the Roman candles and catherine wheels.

But now because we live in a Nanny State™, we're not allowed to any more.

I lived in a particularly unlawful slum in Sydney in those days. Fireworks were on sale only around “Cracker Night” (yes probably Queens Birthday holiday) but it didn’t stop kids from stockpiling bungers. I remember being stopped and searched by police (no doubt illegally) at about 12 years old.

 

[rjh01]

I live in the Netherlands, and while there are also migrants or dutch with a migration background involved, most of the aggression at new year comes from the people who vote to evict all migrants.
The 'good old fashioned dutch' who are upset they cannot do as they please on new years, like lighting massive fires that have burned down houses in the past etc etc.

But I'm mainly in favor of the ban for two reasons.
1: High explosives and drinking is a bad idea
2: The people who so love their fireworks to set them off also hate cleaning up, leaving streets littered with junk and often broken glass for days.

Minor issue. There are no high explosives in fireworks. They use low explosives instead.

Ref: https://www.atf.gov/explosives/qa/what-are-classes-explosive-materials-storage-purposes

 

[theprestige]

My pets aren't fussed, so I guess the fireworks can stay.

 

[arthwollipot]

My pets aren't fussed, so I guess the fireworks can stay.

Nobody else's pets matter anyway.