Personal use of fireworks should be open to a public vote

Another Fourth of July suffering through eight-10 hours of unending firework displays all around us.

Do I have rights about having peace and quiet in my own home? This year was the worst I remember. It was like it was a contest to see who could blow up the most and loudest all night long. The inside of my house just reeked from the smell of explosives from having to have the windows open because of the heat. I have two digs that are just terrified from the sounds and percussions we have to listen to.

I’ve said this before and I will say it again, if a big city like Anchorage can ban personal fireworks, Juneau should be able to do it too. The mess that’s left over town was apparent yesterday as we walked to the parade.

The city of Juneau puts on a wonderful display and that should be enough!

I just dread the Fourth of July every year.

Put it to a vote of the public whether we should ban personal use of fireworks. Let the people of Juneau decide, because I know I am not in the minority on this issue.

Carol Carlson,

Douglas

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

The site of the now-closed Tulsequah Chief mine. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
My Turn: Maybe the news is ‘No new news’ on Canada’s plans for Tulsequah Chief mine cleanup

In 2015, the British Columbia government committed to ending Tulsequah Chief’s pollution… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Voter fact left out of news

With all the post-election analysis, one fact has escaped much publicity. When… Continue reading

People living in areas affected by flooding from Suicide Basin pick up free sandbags on Oct. 20 at Thunder Mountain Middle School. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Opinion: Mired in bureaucracy, CBJ long-term flood fix advances at glacial pace

During meetings in Juneau last week, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)… Continue reading

The Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. (Alaska Department of Family and Community Services photo)
My Turn: Rights for psychiatric patients must have state enforcement

Kim Kovol, commissioner of the state Department of Family and Community Services,… Continue reading

The Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. (Alaska Department of Family and Community Services photo)
My Turn: Small wins make big impacts at Alaska Psychiatric Institute

The Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API), an 80-bed psychiatric hospital located in Anchorage… Continue reading

The settlement of Sermiligaaq in Greenland (Ray Swi-hymn / CC BY-SA 2.0)
My Turn: Making the Arctic great again

It was just over five years ago, in the summer of 2019,… Continue reading

Rosa Parks, whose civil rights legacy has recent been subject to revision in class curriculums. (Public domain photo from the National Archives and Records Administration Records)
My Turn: Proud to be ‘woke’

Wokeness: the quality of being alert to and concerned about social injustice… Continue reading

President Donald Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy pose for a photo aboard Air Force One during a stopover at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage in 2019. (Sheila Craighead / White House photo)
Opinion: Dunleavy has the prerequisite incompetence to work for Trump

On Tuesday it appeared that Gov. Mike Dunleavy was going to be… Continue reading

Most Read