Come on, folks! This is just too much intrusion of local government on our rights! Do you really want to ban all sparklers, pinwheels mounted on sticks, or fountain types of fireworks for everyone in the San Juan Islands on the Fourth of July?! These types of fireworks are not noisy and a not dangerous with parental supervision.

Don’t take away this 200-year-old patriotic tradition on the Fourth of July. The current Washington state laws outlining what fireworks are banned should be sufficient for the San Juan Islands. Many who live here don’t want to travel late at night to see the giant displays of fireworks at Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor Resort, or Lopez Island and simply want to celebrate at home or on a nearby beach as they have done in the islands for generations. For many years, those on Blakely Island and other islands here gather on the beach for a Fourth of July celebration at the end of the day with the magic of circling sparklers and cones in the dark with their children. “It’s called a safe and sane Fourth of July.”

The previous ballot measure banning ALL fireworks was misleading in the wording and Superior Court Judge Don Eaton agrees and has allowed you to vote once again with the current ballot to lift that ban and let us have only those fireworks currently not prohibited by our state laws. We want to restore our right to have safe, non-noisy, fun patriotic displays with our friends and families and to continue those memorable traditions.

Please vote to REJECT the current ban on fireworks Referendum 2008-2 on your ballot, (lower right corner).

Helen Chapman King
San Juan Island