Fireworks Legal in GA?

[RandomGuy]

I needed a cheap socket wrench set so I headed to the BIG LOTS on us29 in lilburn.
On the front door, there was a sign, NO SMOKING FIREWORKS INSIDE or something.

There was a wall full of fireworks... I asked the lady at the counter, she said that people have been asking her all day and that they ARE LEGAL now. ! They weren't the hardcore kind, similar to Florida fireworks, but fireworks nonetheless. We still have to go to Alabama to get the real shit though ;)

What I saw:
Sparklers
those spinners
The big fountains
Those big (75$ retail packs with a shitload of random things for 30 bux)
and other shit

At least GA is moving on up... heh?

[quickdodge®]

http://www1.minn.net/~dchristo/Fireworks/fire1.gif

Later, QD.

[Jaimecbr900]

I have been seeing a bunch of billboards about fireworks all over Gwinnett lately too.

[JoeCoolinATL]

walmart sells them fucking cheap as hell.

[Bishop]

Damn, how did i miss this. I just went to south carolina to get some and they were closed. SHIT

[thinkfast®]

yea son, I was passing the CVS on sugarloaf today, right after that sweet ass accident, they had a sign on CVS talkin bout "as of May 2, fireworks inside"

hells yea :D

[Bishop]

Damn, at cvs, lol. Awesome. I'll have to go hit up walmart

[MitsuEvo6]

I saw a sign on 78 sayin there's a fireworks closeout store of i20 near sixflags.

[down_shift]

From AJC.com

Sparklers, now legal in Georgia, add sizzle to holidays
But officials are worried about burn injuries, fires

Associated Press
Published on: 05/27/05

CONYERS — Along with the usual patio furniture, grills and a big American flag, the holiday display at the entrance of a discount store here includes something new this year, a product making a lot of customers do a double-take — fireworks.

Well, not fireworks exactly, although that's what the display says. They're actually sparklers, long illegal in Georgia but now allowed thanks to a bill signed into law earlier this month.Now, instead of making summertime trips to the nearest state line for holiday sparklers, Georgians can load up at home. And it's not just the simple wire sticks with a small flame that are now allowed. Any small-charge sparkling fountain, as long as it doesn't shoot in the air, is now legal. The sparklers at BJ's Warehouse in Conyers had names like "Nitro Inferno" and "Howling Coyote."

"I thought these were illegal," said Eddie Wise of Conyers, stopping at the display. "I had no idea you could buy these now."

Lawmakers decided to change Georgia's fireworks ban to allow sparklers because the law was seldom enforced anyway. Despite objections from many female lawmakers who worried kids would be hurt if sparklers were allowed, the Legislature approved the change and Gov. Sonny Perdue signed it into law in early May.

"Everyone was doing it anyway," said Sen. Don Balfour, a Republican from Snellville who sponsored the sparkler bill. "There weren't many injuries, and there was not a single law enforcement officer in Georgia enforcing the ban on sparklers."

But as Memorial Day approaches and summer parties get going, the state's fire officials and child health care advocates warn there's a brewing epidemic of burn injuries if people aren't careful.

Georgia, unlike all five of its neighbors, hasn't allowed fireworks for so long that even parents wouldn't have had firecracker safety lessons when they were in school. The Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs lobbied hard against the bill, and firefighters say they're worried that this summer they'll see burn injuries and brush fires caused by now-legal sparklers.

"Just cause they're legal doesn't mean they're safe," said Covington Fire Chief Don Floyd. "This new law sends a dual message. We have always taught our children that fire is a tool and not a toy. And then we light a sparkler and hand it to 'em and say, 'Here. Play with this."'

Floyd was so worried about the new law's effect that he lobbied his city council to pass an ordinance banning sparklers. The state of Georgia may allow sparklers, he said, but that doesn't mean cities can't pass tighter ordinances, and his Newton County town became the first city to revive the sparkler ban just a couple weeks after it was lifted.

Since then, Floyd said he's gotten calls from at least 10 other fire chiefs wanting to copy Covington's ban. Among their concerns is the fact that fireworks safety isn't taught in schools and that small retailers won't know how to safely store the explosive product.

"The educational background isn't there, so we'll be starting from scratch," said Floyd, who is also legislative chairman for the chiefs' association. "I think you'll see a lot of cities banning them."

Standing with the fire chiefs are child health groups. Carol Ball, director of Safe Kids Georgia at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, said there's hardly time to warn parents about the dangers of sparklers before the summer season. Many bills signed by the governor take effect July 1, the first day of a state fiscal year, but the sparkler ban was lifted as soon as Perdue signed the change.

"The perception is, it's just a sparkler, it's no big deal," said Ball, who said children under 10 should never be handed a sparkler and that older kids need supervision. "But people need to be very careful. We would like to encourage people to go to public displays instead of using these devices themselves."

Sparklers can heat to 1,800 degrees, and they stay hot enough to burn skin even after the sparks stop. "It's much more dangerous than a match, and you don't see people giving kids matches to play with," Floyd said.

But like the senator who sponsored the sparkler change, customers at the discount store didn't think the new law was that bad.

"Oh, my kids grew up with sparklers and fireworks," Wise said. Others cited the silliness of driving out of state to buy them.

"Georgia should get the money because everyone was just driving to other states and getting them anyway," said Patricia Ponder of Conyers.

In fact, Ponder said she wouldn't be buying sparklers anytime soon. Her family always stocks up when they go to the beach in Florida, and they have leftovers from last year. "We don't need to buy them here yet. We already have a bunch," she said.

[RandomGuy]

good post

[FDslider]

then why the hell don't they legalize marijuana?

"Everyone was doing it anyway," said Sen. Don Balfour

[Z33_kid]

then why the hell don't they legalize marijuana?

"Everyone was doing it anyway," said Sen. Don Balfour

ahahhahaha

wooohoooo fireworks legal i saw some billboards to i was like wtf atleast now i dont gota travel out state to get some fire works cant wait to get me some blackcats

[5thgcelica]

uhm, if any one actually read that.

it says SPARKLERS. not fireworks.

[uproot]

uhm, if any one actually read that.

it says SPARKLERS. not fireworks.

yeah... "Any small-charge sparkling fountain, as long as it doesn't shoot in the air, is now legal. "

i guess its a little closer.... but that still sucks...

[trythefly]

they arent really fireworks. They are like hugmongous sparklers... ghey imo

I'd rather shoot the real thing...

[uproot]

Wwooooooo Hhooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[MitsuEvo6]

looks like another trip to SC for some people.

[Bishop]

Yeah, ill be up to tennessee in a week or so.