To the editor:

Scenes of the Fourth in Lawrence: High-powered fireworks go off right over our neighborhood, landing in private yards and in open fields of dry grass; a car swerves to avoid an intensely burning firework in the middle of the street, narrowly averting what could have been a tragedy (those setting them off are unimpressed and continue as before); the dawn’s early light on July 5 reveals streets and sidewalks littered with debris from the previous evening’s pyrotechnic revelry, and much of that debris lies there still.

We live near Sunflower Elementary and Southwest Junior High. On the night of the Fourth, I observed many people in the parking lots of those schools setting off fireworks. That was their first violation of the law. The second was their failure to clean up the mess they made. Why these lawn-chair patriots couldn’t pick up after themselves isn’t clear, but laziness and indifference are two plausible explanations.

Setting off fireworks is not a right, it’s a privilege, and when that privilege is abused, then it must be withdrawn.

We strongly support Commissioner Jim Henry’s efforts to ban fireworks in Lawrence, and we applaud his courage in staking out a position that will no doubt be unpopular with some but will win him the gratitude of those of us who are frustrated by the current lack of regulation and enforcement. This situation really is “outrageous,” as he said, and should no longer be tolerated.

Walter and Nancy Clark,

Lawrence