The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial published July 2, blaming/crediting the aggressive fireworks industry lobby for Indiana’s lax fireworks laws. Bob Morris (of “Girl Scouts are a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood” fame) and Eric Turner (of lucrative nursing home regulatory environment fame) get special mention as advocates for the industry. The fireworks lobby apparently contributes more here than in neighboring states in spite of the comparatively low cost for political campaigns in Indiana.
The upshot of the editorial seems to be that we have lots of fireworks at all hours and our General Assembly is a bargain!
The shocking story is not that these skunks were involved and that it all fits together, but the fact that the public will not demand the heads of these guys. After this editorial, it will all go away, consistent with our history for letting the skunks get by with it. Let Mitch appoint the Purdue board and apply for the presidency of Purdue, and not a peep from the public. As long as they aren’t caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl, it’s all O.K. We really do deserve the government we get.
People say this is a “conservative” state. I think there are other words to describe it.
So Morris operates fireworks stores and takes huge bribes from the industry. his other line of “business” is selling grossly overpriced packages of useless vitamins.
But he wants everyone to know in his legislative bio that he is “active” in his church. Not sure what “active” means, but I don’t think it’s good.
Morris sure gets them to post his Girl Scout green campaign signs in their yards.
Carlito, Morris is in your neighborhood, right? I’ll bet you have some interesting stories.
Why do statists claim every absence of tyranny, control and intrusion to be “lax?”
Our government was not constituted to meddle in fireworks, nor was any consent given to it to go meddling in this private affair. Stay out of it.
If people are using fireworks I can’t see or hear on my property, then I take your point. What business is it of mine if my idiot neighbor (assuming he’s an adult) blows his hand off? It becomes my business, and potentially the government’s business, when his recreation starts having an impact on my ability to quietly enjoy my property.
Of course, that’s a balance. When I mow my lawn, my neighbors can hear. When I have friends over for a cookout, neighbors can hear. But, there are limits. Noise levels, nuisance laws, and time of day limitations are appropriate subjects of government regulation.
The Indiana legislature has put a roadblock in place (IC 22-11-14-10.5) that specifically prohibits local governments from enforcing noise ordinances or outlawing the use of fireworks during the time periods that are most profitable to the firework industry. I was speechless when I read this statute. There is absolutely no reason why the state legislature would step in and actively put language in a statute to prohibit local governments from enacting and enforcing their own firework/noise ordinances other than an unscrupulous commitment to the firework industry.