Find the right answer on fireworks

Independence, your government is about to make you proud.

This may be premature, but if common sense and logic get together, Independence city officials may legalize small yet loud explosives, colorful fountains and other fireworks in the near future. That’s right, you could soon exercise your God-given right to cause controlled mayhem, within reason, if a few influential people take the route that should be traveled.

Legalizing fireworks just makes sense. Based on the behavior of residents during the Fourth of July, folks not only want fireworks but they use them fairly responsibly. You have to salute Independence city officials for finally taking a hard look at ending the fireworks ban charade. Still, there is a long way between years of legal denial and getting an effective fireworks-control ordinance passed.

Just ask the folks in Lee’s Summit.

Two years ago Eastern Jackson County’s southern boom town began the seemingly easy process of legalizing fireworks. The city knew, based on the ordinances in other metro locales, what type of explosive devices it wanted to allow. Then the human issue came up.

Lee’s Summit wanted to make very sure the right people used the right type of fireworks at the right times. Suddenly things got really complicated. The city went from simply setting time and age limits to exploring the cost of requiring personal and non-profit licenses. There was so much back and forth, you would have thought Lee’s Summit officials were talking about pit bulls. Meanwhile, a few weeks of work turned into months of waiting and refining.

To conclude a convoluted story, Lee’s Summit residents who lusted for legal fireworks got their authorizing ordinance. However, folks also got the requirement to obtain a license to use those fireworks at their homes. Non-profits received limits on the number of groups that can sale fireworks in the city. Not a high price, but not a cheap one either.

This isn’t to suggest Independence will take such a bulky, labor-intensive approach. If anything, Lee’s Summit should serve as a cautionary tale of overthinking the matter and trying to create the perfect fireworks ordinance. The lesson for the Queen City is to keep the review process simple.

As usual, engage the public and see what they’ll tolerate. Throw in a few roadblocks for safety such as prohibitions against bottle rockets and fireworks with the “M” prefix. Set some time limits and common sense rules (no explosives for children under 10). Add a few whereas statements and the city seal and call it an ordinance.

Independence officials will no doubt follow a similar blueprint. Even if the review and drafting process gets thick, the elimination of a pointless ban is worth the trade off.

Good governments give people what they want. If all goes well, Independence residents will have one more reason to be proud of their public officials.