Fourth of July has come and gone. In Omaha (as most of you know), it is illegal to sell and light off fireworks. This city ordinance doesn’t stop most people from lighting off fireworks (especially my neighbors).
Buying fireworks inside Omaha is illegal so most people travel to Sarpy County, Ralston, and Elkhorn to buy fireworks. If (or should I say when) Elkhorn is annexed, it will no longer be legal to sell and light off fireworks within Elkhorn. Many organizations in Elkhorn profit from the sale of fireworks. These organizations would have to stop selling fireworks once the annexation is completed. I was hoping a news station would do a story about this and Bryan New at Chanel 6 News came through.
I suggest taking two minutes of your life to watch this video. Click here to watch the entire news story.
Let me point out a few things…
1) The only reason the firework stands in Elkhorn make $100k+ is because fireworks are illegal in Omaha. The people in Elkhorn love to complain but I didn’t hear them thank the City of Omaha for making fireworks illegal. Elkhorn organizations (including the Catholic Church) profit enormously by selling fireworks to Omaha residents who illegally transport them into the city limits and illegally light them. If Omaha legalized fireworks, the sales in Elkhorn would dry up in a hurry.
2) State Senator Dwite Pedersen was interviewed for this story and was speaking on behalf of the St. Patrick’s Church fireworks stand. When asked what the Catholic Church would do if it was no longer able to sell fireworks, he said…
We could probably just move outside the city limits and still sell fireworks.
In difficult times like these, the Catholic Church fireworks stand must ask themselves one question. What Would Jesus Do? It sounds like Senator Pedersen has asked that question. It seems Jesus would hitch up the trailer, drive a few miles to the city limits, set-up shop, and sell fireworks to residents that are more than likely breaking the law by transporting them into the city and lighting them. I didn’t know Jesus was such a capitalist.
I would agree with your second comment, but I keep asking myself where is the line of responsibility drawn?
Do these and other organizations have an ethical or legal responsibility to terminate a sale if they know without a doubt that their product will be used illegally? Ethical yes, but legal? Probably not.
The most significant issue is how much do they need to know about the customer before they can make that descision. Should they be asking for proof of residency? Even still, how do they know the customer wont light them off at a cabin outside city limits. Or what about someone like me that lives out of city limits but would have to drive through the city to transport them back to my house?
These organizations do have a responsibility to ensure within reason that their product is used legally and responsibly. I would assert that even if they were used legally they are not always used responsibly. I would say that if no indication is made as to how the product will be used they have no legal responsibility to terminate the sale.
Ethics may be different but even still by imposing your own judgement as to what you think someone may do with your product you are treating that person with some degree of prejudice. This creates a different ethical question. Do you treat someone differently based on what you think they will do or what you know about them for sure?
Its a terribly sticky situation and I’m sure they feel that the benefits of the income outweigh any ethical risk God might judge them at fault for.
I don’t “get” fireworks. I’m convinced it’s genetic and particular to a specific gender. In a million years, I can’t imagine seeing females sitting outside in the heat and shooting off fireworks well into the early morning – there’s something about some males that makes them want to blow things up. Our neighbors, (known inaffectionately as the Grucci Brothers) were going at it until 3 a.m. Not only do you NOT lift the ban but they should keep the ban and put one hell of a fine on top of it. Omaha coffers would be increased by a million bucks over a weekend.
Fireworks are produced in China. Buying fireworks just increases the federal trade deficits. On a similar note, the U.S. congress is just about to pass CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement). This must not happen.
Diane, I would have to agree with your observation. I am thoroughly obsessed with fireworks, but I do know where to draw the line. We went down to Missouri this year to get some of the more “illegal” fireworks, mainly bottle rockets. We stopped before 10:00pm every night though. We were not up that late lighting off fireworks, and we only lit them off on the 3rd and 4th, and a little bit during the daytime on the 5th. Some people are just stupid with them. Anyone can play with fire, its the irresponsible ones that get burned.