The Loophole Has Been Closed: Aerial Fireworks Now Illegal to Sell
It's been an ongoing conversation, with attention and emotion escalated after the Table Rock Fire, and now aerial fireworks are officially illegal to be sold in the State of Idaho.
The Idaho Attorney General's Office announced the new policy earlier this morning, and closes what was referred to as a "loophole" that allowed the sale of aerial fireworks, as long as the purchaser signed an agreement that they would not set them off inside Idaho.
Obviously, that agreement was not likely upheld.
Fire chiefs and departments across the state had been vocal in their opposition of the former policy, and that resistance grew following the Table Rock Fire last summer that was the result of illegal fireworks.
The Attorney General's Office felt that the current law did not actually require buyers to sign (and thus uphold) the agreement, and they felt that existing law did, in fact, band the sale of aerial fireworks to the general public.
There is room for different interpretation by law enforcement agencies as individual counties will have the discretion to determine how to make fireworks retailers comply with the law (if they do at all).
KTVB Newschannel 7 has more on the details, specific know policies from law enforcement agencies, and more clarity on how this impacts sellers and consumers with just days until the 4th of July.