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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think we need to ban fireworks from public sale?

98 replies

trainboundfornowhere · 03/10/2023 22:03

I have just read in the newspaper that two boys ages 7 & 9 were playing in a park in Caerphilly. Three teenagers approached the boys and thought it would be funny to throw fireworks at them. One little boy has lost his hand.

I sadly think that banning them from public sale is the only way to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

OP posts:
Dnendns · 03/10/2023 23:35

No I don’t think they should be banned.

A couple of stupid kids got hold of some, blame their parents.

You don’t ban a item just because some people use it inappropriately.

BarbieKew · 03/10/2023 23:42

Yes I think they should be banned for public sale, or limited to small/silent ones, or somehow registered to buyers.

Splat92 · 04/10/2023 01:40

They've been banned in Australia without a licence for this very reason.

Vegetus · 04/10/2023 05:06

Someone should keep an up to date list of all the things Mumsnet would like to ban.

justwantobeamum · 04/10/2023 05:13

Yes completely agree most local councils do a fireworks display for bonfire night absolutely no need for them to be sold to general public.

hattie43 · 04/10/2023 05:13

I think only organise firework displays should be allowed .

Anoisagusaris · 04/10/2023 05:24

They are illegal here in Ireland.

Of course you can still get them illegally or in Northern Ireland but they aren’t as freely available as they are in the UK.

I had an English friend as a child who had been badly burnt by a firework. She had skin graphs all over her neck and arms. It terrified me.

flapjackfairy · 04/10/2023 05:26

Well dogs are not a necessity but how many people have they killed over the last few months alone !
The argument doesn't really hold water does it ?

flapjackfairy · 04/10/2023 05:45

not that I have any strong feelings either way on fireworks but surely more people have been killed, maimed and injured by dog attacks. So following the argument all ( non working ) dogs should be banned because a few irresponsible owners have ruined it for the majority of responsible ones and that is my point really that the majority have to have their rights curtailed because of the idiots in society who don't care .

Northernsouloldies · 04/10/2023 05:49

I'm a 70s kid and the fireworks back then are not comparable to the multi shot fireworks that are available now not to mention the illegal fireworks for sale from dodgy sources. So stupid that little boy lost his hand to something that's so unnecessary.

Beefcurtains79 · 04/10/2023 05:51

Dnendns · 03/10/2023 23:35

No I don’t think they should be banned.

A couple of stupid kids got hold of some, blame their parents.

You don’t ban a item just because some people use it inappropriately.

Yes you can. Just like plenty of other responsible countries have done.
I have no idea why they are still sold to the public. I think Sainsburys stopped a few years back.

fatrascall · 04/10/2023 05:52

ShutTheDoorBabe · 03/10/2023 22:40

Banning things doesn't make problems go away, it just moves then onto something else. What needs to be addressed is the behaviour and the availability of the police to quickly deal with it.

I know a 75 year old who has a scar on his backside because someone shoved a firework in his pocket as a kid. This is not a new problem.

We as a society have had decades to address this and nothing is forthcoming, so yes, at this point, banning public sale of fireworks seems like a good solution to me and something that we have not yet tried.

MidnightOnceMore · 04/10/2023 05:56

Yes I agree. Many other countries have already done this for obvious reasons.

catwithflowers · 04/10/2023 06:01

midgemadgemodge
The only way to prevent car accidents is to ban cars

You have to have a licence to drive a car, you must wear a seatbelt and you can't drive while using a mobile phone or under the influence of drink or drugs...there are restrictions for safety and reduction of incidents just like banning sale of fireworks to the general public would reduce incidence of harm.

Totally agree with Natty

BeautifulWar · 04/10/2023 06:14

While I don't disagree at all, have you spotted the common denominator with the horrible stories you've told? Shitty teenagers.

Why are there some teenagers who are left to aimlessly roam the streets with no respect or care about causing harm to others?

HernesEgg · 04/10/2023 06:15

They’re illegal n Ireland. I found it strange to see them on open sale when I first lived in England. Then at my first ever Diwali, my friend’s cousin burned down their shed…

Gooseysgirl · 04/10/2023 06:49

HernesEgg · 04/10/2023 06:15

They’re illegal n Ireland. I found it strange to see them on open sale when I first lived in England. Then at my first ever Diwali, my friend’s cousin burned down their shed…

This!!!! It's a complete non-issue in Ireland. Fireworks are left to the experts 🤷🏻‍♀️

qwerty123454 · 04/10/2023 06:57

Couldn't agree more OP

Tiredchicken · 04/10/2023 06:59

Those saying well then you should ban dogs as well…
well maybe getting a dog or fireworks should be a properly restricted thing… if you want to possess something that can kill/maim someone you need to have a licence and you need training.

if you don’t want one of things bad enough to agree to do it safely and minimise risk to others then you shouldn’t be allowed it.

cars sadly are necessary for a lot of people but you must pass two tests to check your safe on the road and can rightly be stopped for breaking the rules and be banned from driving.

lf we can’t ban things all together then we need to think of ways to make things safer for the population regardless of individuals just « wants » rather than needs. only alllowing fireworks sales to people that have done proper training makes a lot of sense and would have spared this poor little boy the trauma and loss of his hand

DutchCowgirl · 04/10/2023 06:59

I live in the Netherlands , during the year only category 1 fireworks are permitted (the small festive fountain types) . But there is loads of illegal fireworks going round. Police just doesn’t have time for this. I can hear fireworks almost every night. So banning doesn’t solve a lot. Keeping teenagers inside will help i guess.

Rewis · 04/10/2023 07:00

Haven't bought fireworks in forever but in myhome country I think it's over 18 and.only sold on certain days leading upto New years and only in certain shops that have applied for a license. And there is a talk for banning this as well.

I do think fireworks should be banned. Safety, environment, pets, kids, drunk people. Also official displays just look so much nicer than a few cheap noise making bombs.

ChChChCherryBomb · 04/10/2023 07:26

YANBU.

They should have been banned a long time ago.

daffodilandtulip · 04/10/2023 08:03

The idiots that let them off at midnight in September are the kind of people who would get hold of them even if they weren't banned.

Trixiefirecracker · 04/10/2023 08:09

Dogs maim people more than fireworks, let’s ban those too? Let’s ban everything!

catbla2957 · 04/10/2023 08:10

I agree. They should not be for public sale. Organised events only. They are so dangerous and every antisocial