Psst, Nanny, “Although firecrackers contain gunpowder, sparklers do not.” Never one to let facts get in the way of a good banning, even trying to ban beyond NYC borders.
Via Daily Caller:
Citing national security concerns and the war on terror, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New York Gov. Michael Cuomo to ban the sale of children’s fireworks.
City officials worried that sparklers — handheld fireworks that emit colorful sparks and are often waved through the air by kids on the Fourth of July — could be used in terrorist attacks, according to The New York Post.
“A recent attempt to harm innocent lives provides a frightening example of how legally purchased… Fireworks can cause dramatic harm and even kill,” said Joseph Garba, Bloomberg’s state legislative director, in a statement.
Garba was referring to the case of the failed 2010 Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, who used a legally-purchased firecracker to trigger his car bomb. The ignition device failed, however, and the bombing was unsuccessful.
Although firecrackers contain gunpowder, sparklers do not.