For all of you who don't think fireworks are dangerous:
Police are seeking help in finding the person who shot and killed a 26-year-old Indianapolis man found dead from multiple gunshot wounds.James Hudson, 2600 block of Guilford Avenue, was found in his Near-Northside home Wednesday. He had been shot five times.
Police believe the man died in the early morning hours after Fourth of July festivities, and it is possible the shots were mistaken for fireworks.
A friend of mine was complaining about the absurdity of not being able, under the city's noise ordinance, to mow the lawn after 9 p.m. when it is permitted, under state law, to shoot off fireworks until 11 p.m. I recommened she go ahead and mow the lawn, having someone set off fireworks at the same time to mask the sound.
I've been reading accounts in other Indiana newspapers, and the reaction in other towns has been the same as it has been in Fort Wayne. The added noise in neighborhoods is driving people crazy. This law might even be more unpopular than the switch to daylight-saving time.
The fireworks seemed to die down a few days after the Fourth in my neighborhood, but they're back now. Tom Weiss, state senator from Fort Wayne who voted against the legalization, has warned that this will go on all year, not just near major holidays. I believe him.
Comments
Stevie Wonder could have seen THIS debacle coming....
With some of this store-bought celebratory ordnance, it is getting harder to tell the difference between them and real gunfire. I know.
I tell people that when they hear fireworks...call it into the police AS a shots fired (code 113)...that WILL get a response.
I figure better to err on the side of caution, not to mention that a code 113 has a LOT higher priority than a code 44FW (fireworks).
Heck, just calling into the police as "party armed" will net about FIVE cars...trust me on this one...!
Does calling the police "unjustly" make a difference?
Well, in Mr. Hudson's case..it just might have.
It's a sad commentary when law-abiding citizens have to endure this cacophony day after day, but to ignore or dismiss this will diminish & desensitize us in ways we can't imagine.
B.G.
I can assure you, up here in lake country the sound of fireworks is now a nightly affair also. Seems part of everyones weekend getaway to the lake includes a couple hundred pounds of explosives. It's actually more annoying than the sound of 600 horsepower jet boats at full throttle morning, noon, and night.
I have no problem with making fireworks legal for July 4th, but year round is just plain absurd.
I think the combination of increased firworks legalization and Daylight Saving Time has made it more annoying this year -- particularly for me, with a couple of young kids and a couple of dogs that don't like fireworks.
The fireworks are going off more frequently because of the legalization and later because of the later sunset.
It's Wyss, not Weiss.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I've spelled it right a hundred times, including in the editorial I linked to. I'd call you a Wyssenheimer, but that would be confrontational, and I'm really a weiss at heart.