New Ga. fireworks law leaves some fuming
Georgia’s new law legalizing fireworks gave some residents a giant headache this weekend as loud, celebratory explosions lasted into the early morning hours and at least one metro-Atlanta man was seriously injured.
It was still too early to say, in some places, whether the number of fireworks-related complaints and injuries had increased from the previous holiday weekend. But social media was ablaze with posts from irritated Georgians fearing for their safety and complaining about the noise and mess. Some were still fuming Monday.
“It is ABSURD that this is allowed — never mind until 2:00 a.m. (what were they thinking?!?!?) in residential neighborhoods,” wrote Alice Melott in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I got no sleep all weekend and my holiday was ruined by the constant blowing up of things outside my home in residential Kirkwood. My dogs were terrified and traumatized, and I spent three nights wondering if my
roof or yard would catch fire,” the resident of Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood said.
That complaint was echoed by Basem Alamoodi, of Tucker.
“
It was annoying but I also thought it was not safe. Every time it seemed like there could be a fire,” he said.
One Cobb County man was seriously injured when a malfunctioning firework blew up and hit him in the back of his leg. Jeremy McCrackin was rushed to Kennestone’s trauma unit and had surgery to stabilize the bone, according to a gofundme site seeking help with his medical expenses. He has two broken bones in his leg and severe tissue damage and is going to have at least two more surgeries before he can begin his recovery. The 31-year-old had been helping a friend with a fireworks show at Governor’s Town Home Community in Acworth.
With complaints pouring in, a backlash was brewing against the new law on Monday. Adopted by state legislators earlier this year, it permits the sale and possession of fireworks and took effect July 1, just in time for the Fourth of July festivities. Georgians may set off fireworks any time between 10 a.m. and midnight for most of the year and until 2 a.m. around New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. Areas near gas stations and nuclear plants are off limits but there are no other restrictions on where they can be ignited.
State Rep. Keisha Waites, D-Atlanta, on Monday called for the law’s repeal, saying it “goes too far and encroaches upon the rights of others.”
State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver — who calls Georgia’s new fireworks statute the
“blow-the-child’s-hand-off” law 
— said she got numerous complaints from her constituents and supports amending the law to give local communities more control over where fireworks may be used.
“There seems to be an interest in giving cities and counties more authority to make rational decisions for their communities on when and where they may be shot off,” the Democrat from Decatur said.
The sponsors of the legislation – former state Rep. Jay Roberts of Ocilla and state Sen. Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga – did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
...
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Suzanimal
Connect With Us