Fireworks Proponents Fear Loss of an American Tradition

The Boone family takes the Fourth of July seriously. Very seriously.

Don and Virginia Boone celebrated their 50th anniversary on Independence Day last year, even though they took their vows in June. And in a coming-of-age family tradition, the honor of lighting the fireworks has been handed down to Travis--their 17-year-old grandson.”Without fireworks ... it is just another day,” said Virginia, 71.

Like hundreds of other towns, Buena Park dresses up in red, white and blue on Independence Day. And for the Boones and many others in town, it’s a day filled with block parties, barbecues and fireworks.

But in the year since a 9-year-old boy was shot dead during a noisy fireworks-punctuated celebration in a neighborhood park, residents and city officials have wrestled with outlawing fireworks.

To some, the thought is nearly un-American. To others, it’s a concession that times have changed.

On April 22, the City Council banned fireworks, following the police chief’s recommendation that the sparklers, fountains and other fireworks had created a climate in which violence and wrongdoing were tolerated, or at least went by unnoticed. Citizens, fireworks wholesalers and service clubs that make money from the sale of fireworks fought back by submitting a petition signed by more than 5,000 Buena Park residents.

The petition effectively allows the use and sale of fireworks, at least for one last Independence Day. A citywide vote on the issue is likely later this year.

The death of Xavier Morales, the boy who was killed after being hit by a .22-caliber bullet during a July 4 celebration, may have initially turned the tide on fireworks.

Police Chief Gary Hicken was so angered by the death that he asked the city to ban fireworks outright. He said the noise of fireworks may have drowned out the sound of gunfire, delaying the discovery that the child had been mortally wounded. Further, the fireworks created an atmosphere that encouraged such things as firing guns into the air as an act of celebration. An arrest in the shooting has not been made.

“Our population probably triples that night,” Hicken said at the time. “It’s chaotic and out of control.”

The City Council ultimately voted 3 to 2 to prohibit fireworks.

During public meetings, David Boone, Don and Virginia’s eldest son, often vehemently disagreed with Hicken. Boone explained that some of his happiest childhood memories involved fireworks on the Fourth of July. He explained that his family had lived in town for half a century, original owners in a tract near an orange grove. The orchard is long gone, he said, and so are many of the original homeowners.

“Independence Day is a family thing,” he said. “It did bring us closer together.”

After the decision to ban fireworks, 5,556 residents signed a petition to block the fireworks ban, far more than the 2,918 needed to force city leaders to either rescind the ban or call an election. In the meantime, said City Clerk Shalice Reynoso, the ban is suspended--meaning that fireworks will remain legal this summer.

Mayor Steve Berry, who voted against the ban, said he welcomes the opportunity to find a middle ground between the public safety concerns of such folks as Hicken and the importance of fireworks to people such as the Boones and his own family. Fireworks are “part of our culture,” he said. “I’ve raised my kids that way.”

Councilman Art Brown said he didn’t like the idea of banning fireworks, but, unlike the mayor, saw no other choice. “I still think it is an issue of public safety,” he said. “I didn’t want to ban them either, but if you go around the city on the Fourth of July, it’s a war zone out there.”

The signatures were gathered by a group called the Buena Park Community Coalition, which included residents, fireworks wholesalers and nonprofit groups that make thousands of dollars from the sale of so-called safe and sane fireworks.

Regardless of the motives, David Boone said city residents signed the petition because they don’t want to see an American tradition die in Buena Park.

“If this were to be the last one, I would feel very sad,” said his mother, Virginia. “I would feel I would be losing my privilege as a citizen of this country to celebrate my freedom.”