Are Fireworks Legal in Your State?
I've created this page so that you guys can be familiar with the different laws regarding fireworks around the country. I will go through some of the key states surrounding my state of Illinois and touch on some other states around the United States to give you a feel for what kind of laws are out there. If it were up to me, all states could use fireworks. But, there are much more complicated factors to take into account, so we will have to live with what the laws are right now.
The map above gives a good indication of the laws that apply to each state. The different category descriptions are quite humorous, but entirely true.
Illinois: My home state of Illinois is one of the worst to live in if you have an obsession with fireworks, like me. In Illinois the only things that are legal are small sparklers, "pop-its", and snakes. These are hardly even considered fireworks. The products that are available for use don't really make any noise and have almost no effects to them. The reason I believe the state bans so many fireworks is because of Chicago. The city has such a bad reputation of violence and crime, that the politicians believe that fireworks stores in the state would lead to much more crime and danger around the 4th of July holiday. But, the good thing about living in Illinois is our proximity to states that have legalized fireworks such as Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. But, even after I get the fireworks it can be difficult to use them. Because the state is so strict on their use, neighbors will get extremely upset when you use actual fireworks. So, I have to be very careful to not make neighbors mad or else I will quickly get a visit from the police.
Missouri: This is one of the most lenient states in the U.S. with fireworks laws. I don't like that fireworks are illegal in my state, but it isn't too bad to make the drive over to Missouri and pick up some good product. Missouri has fireworks stores everywhere around the 4th of July and you can buy anything that is within the federal legal limits. I can go over to Missouri and purchase just about any artillery shells, firecrackers, roman candles, and cakes that are within the consumer legal limits.
Indiana: The graph above shows that Indiana has some limits on what you can use. But, I have visited a few stores in Indiana and bought some products before and never noticed a limit on what they could sell. I would have to look into the law more closely to see what exactly is different in Indiana compared to states like Missouri. In my experience, I have been able to purchase exactly what I could in Missouri though.
Wisconsin: I personally have not been to any fireworks stores in Wisconsin, but I have watched videos of people who have been to them. It seems like they sell the same fireworks as Missouri and Indiana. But, I did hear something about how you can purchase fireworks in Wisconsin but you cannot use them in Wisconsin. This sounds like a very odd law to me if it is true and I will have to look into it deeper.
New York: New York is one of the few states that has a total ban on fireworks in the United States. This means that people in New York cannot use anything that is considered a firework. For example, people cannot even use sparklers or pop-its. This is an extremely strict law, even more so than my state of Illinois. Only four states follow this law: New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I can definitely see why New York bans the use of fireworks because of their very large population and high amounts of tourism to New York City. But, I wonder why the other states have this ban as well.
California: I have seen a lot of fireworks videos from California. It is a limited state that only sells "safe and sane" fireworks. I am pretty sure this means that people in California cannot buy things like firecrackers, artillery shells, or roman candles. Safe and sane refers to fireworks that are neither projectile nor explosive. So, the kinds of products that are available for use are things like sparklers and fountains. Fountains are still a good firework to use, but are not as fun as things like cakes and artillery shells. If I lived in California, I wouldn't complain too much because they have access to much more fireworks than the ones available in Illinois.
Hawaii: Hawaii is a very interesting state. As shown by the map, you can purchase all kinds of fireworks in the state. This is a cool feature considering they are an island and I feel like fireworks would be dangerous with all of the vegetation there. You may be able to purchase any kind of fireworks that you like, but they are extremely expensive. I saw a video on YouTube about purchasing fireworks in Hawaii and the person said that they were extremely expensive. This is likely due to the fact that the state is an island and it is very expensive for stores to import the products to sell them. For example, the person in the video had purchased some aerial cakes. These would go for anywhere from about $20-$35 in the continental United States and he said they cost close to $100 in Hawaii! That is absolutely insane that they can charge such a high price for those products. But, it's all about how much it costs to get the products to the state. Also, the people of the island do not have an alternative to go to because they are stuck on the island. I'm not sure how those firework businesses do well at all considering the price at which they must sell the products. If I lived in Hawaii, I would definitely not pay that much money for fireworks, and I absolutely love using them.
The map above gives a good indication of the laws that apply to each state. The different category descriptions are quite humorous, but entirely true.
Illinois: My home state of Illinois is one of the worst to live in if you have an obsession with fireworks, like me. In Illinois the only things that are legal are small sparklers, "pop-its", and snakes. These are hardly even considered fireworks. The products that are available for use don't really make any noise and have almost no effects to them. The reason I believe the state bans so many fireworks is because of Chicago. The city has such a bad reputation of violence and crime, that the politicians believe that fireworks stores in the state would lead to much more crime and danger around the 4th of July holiday. But, the good thing about living in Illinois is our proximity to states that have legalized fireworks such as Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. But, even after I get the fireworks it can be difficult to use them. Because the state is so strict on their use, neighbors will get extremely upset when you use actual fireworks. So, I have to be very careful to not make neighbors mad or else I will quickly get a visit from the police.
Missouri: This is one of the most lenient states in the U.S. with fireworks laws. I don't like that fireworks are illegal in my state, but it isn't too bad to make the drive over to Missouri and pick up some good product. Missouri has fireworks stores everywhere around the 4th of July and you can buy anything that is within the federal legal limits. I can go over to Missouri and purchase just about any artillery shells, firecrackers, roman candles, and cakes that are within the consumer legal limits.
Indiana: The graph above shows that Indiana has some limits on what you can use. But, I have visited a few stores in Indiana and bought some products before and never noticed a limit on what they could sell. I would have to look into the law more closely to see what exactly is different in Indiana compared to states like Missouri. In my experience, I have been able to purchase exactly what I could in Missouri though.
Wisconsin: I personally have not been to any fireworks stores in Wisconsin, but I have watched videos of people who have been to them. It seems like they sell the same fireworks as Missouri and Indiana. But, I did hear something about how you can purchase fireworks in Wisconsin but you cannot use them in Wisconsin. This sounds like a very odd law to me if it is true and I will have to look into it deeper.
New York: New York is one of the few states that has a total ban on fireworks in the United States. This means that people in New York cannot use anything that is considered a firework. For example, people cannot even use sparklers or pop-its. This is an extremely strict law, even more so than my state of Illinois. Only four states follow this law: New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I can definitely see why New York bans the use of fireworks because of their very large population and high amounts of tourism to New York City. But, I wonder why the other states have this ban as well.
California: I have seen a lot of fireworks videos from California. It is a limited state that only sells "safe and sane" fireworks. I am pretty sure this means that people in California cannot buy things like firecrackers, artillery shells, or roman candles. Safe and sane refers to fireworks that are neither projectile nor explosive. So, the kinds of products that are available for use are things like sparklers and fountains. Fountains are still a good firework to use, but are not as fun as things like cakes and artillery shells. If I lived in California, I wouldn't complain too much because they have access to much more fireworks than the ones available in Illinois.
Hawaii: Hawaii is a very interesting state. As shown by the map, you can purchase all kinds of fireworks in the state. This is a cool feature considering they are an island and I feel like fireworks would be dangerous with all of the vegetation there. You may be able to purchase any kind of fireworks that you like, but they are extremely expensive. I saw a video on YouTube about purchasing fireworks in Hawaii and the person said that they were extremely expensive. This is likely due to the fact that the state is an island and it is very expensive for stores to import the products to sell them. For example, the person in the video had purchased some aerial cakes. These would go for anywhere from about $20-$35 in the continental United States and he said they cost close to $100 in Hawaii! That is absolutely insane that they can charge such a high price for those products. But, it's all about how much it costs to get the products to the state. Also, the people of the island do not have an alternative to go to because they are stuck on the island. I'm not sure how those firework businesses do well at all considering the price at which they must sell the products. If I lived in Hawaii, I would definitely not pay that much money for fireworks, and I absolutely love using them.
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