Lacey should adopt fine for illegal fireworks

Our views

The Olympian • Published June 26, 2008

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The Lacey City Council should vote tonight to authorize police to write $100 civil infraction citations for residents who violate Lacey’s ban on the discharge of fireworks.

Under the law approved by voters Nov. 8, 2005, violating the ban on fireworks is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

That’s too harsh.

“This is not something we want on someone’s record,” Mayor Graeme Sackrison said. “All we want in terms of a penalty is some ability to discourage the illegal use of fireworks.”

Police Chief Dusty Pierpoint echoes those thoughts, saying he wants some penalty in place for violators, especially for repeat offenders, but doesn’t want to go as far as a misdemeanor being placed on a person’s record.

That’s a reasonable approach.

Lacey is the only community in South Sound with a fireworks ban in place. Critics are quick to blame the City Council for what they see as an abridgement of individual rights, but it was Lacey voters who put the ban in place three years ago. The vote was 53.56 percent in favor, with more than 9,000 city residents casting ballots in that election.

The case for the ban was a strong one. Writing in the 2005 voter pamphlet, Lacey residents Leigh Ann Mehan and Leona Vixo said, “Dangerous and powerful fireworks — both legal and illegal — create serious hazards in our neighborhoods. In 2004, 1,110 fires, deaths and injuries occurred statewide due to fireworks. The devastation of lives, homes and properties by fireworks increased 49 percent in the last five years.”

Opponents said the proposed ban was unenforceable and unreasonable. Writing in the same pamphlet, Lacey resident Ken Balsley painted the ban as the work of a stodgy council and mayor. “The average age of the Lacey City Council is over 60 and the ban is being pushed by a 73-year-old mayor (Virgil Clarkson). They’ve forgotten the joys of their youth and the thrill we had as the Fourth of July neared and we were able to buy and shoot off fireworks. ... This proposed ban is anti-kids and anti-American.”

Voters saw things differently, approving the ban, which went into effect last year.

In 2007, Lacey police concentrated on public education rather than bringing misdemeanor charges against city residents. Police received more than 100 complaints about violations of the ban.

There were some violations, but most Lacey residents enjoyed a much quieter Fourth of July than in previous years. Thornbury Park, for example, used to be lined with families igniting their fireworks — legal and illegal. No one picked up their trash and the next day the park looked like a war zone. That scene was not repeated with the ban in place.

Tonight, the Lacey City Council should take the opportunity to drop routine firework violations from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction. The reckless use of fireworks that creates a serious risk of serious injury or death to another person or property damage could still be prosecuted as a gross misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of up to $5,000 or a year in jail, or both.

Other cities in South Sound should follow Lacey’s lead and improve public safety by banning fireworks.