Continuing the Works of Fire

For many fireworks retailers, it’s pretty simple: Sell where it’s legal and use the Fourth of July — and the U.S. legal system — as an advantage.

Phantom Fireworks, one of the largest retail stores for consumer fireworks in the U.S., sets up no shops in states where fireworks are illegal. A search on their website for fireworks in New York brings a warning, “New York law prohibits the transportation, sale, possession, or use of fireworks in New York without a valid permit.”

Other retailers will set up independent operators in tents where consumer fireworks are legal, during the weeks before and after the big patriotic holiday, where apparently most of the fireworks will sell out.

Still, regulations don’t prevent residents of New York from receiving Phantom Fireworks’s “bonus chart” in the mail, and with a store just over the border in Pennsylvania, it’s up to the law to keep up with what citizens do with their spare time and money.

I’ve lived in New York over half of my life now, and despite all of the regulations, you can still hear the pops and zings of consumer fireworks coming from backyards come Fourth of July.

Still, those responsible members of society should be able to have their fun, and fireworks retailers will be there to see them through to good combustable times for the foreseeable future.

Jaron Serven graduated last year with a master’s degree in English from the University of Albany and is now a freelance writer and editor in the Greater New York area. Follow him on Twitter at @j_serv and check out his music and culture blog at www.jaronserven.com.

Feature image courtesy of bayasaa
Banner image courtesy of jeff_golden