CINCINNATI — People in Indiana and Kentucky can legally shoot off their own fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July, and people in Ohio might be able to join them soon.
Ohio Senate Bill 113 allows Ohioans to shoot off fireworks on select holidays, including the Fourth of July. The bill passed the Ohio House and Senate earlier this year. Now the bill sits on Gov. Mike DeWine's desk waiting for his signature.
Indiana started permitting people to shoot off fireworks legally in 2006, and firework-related injuries fell, or remained constant, in the years afterwards.
"When something is illegal, I as a fireworks expert, cannot educate you on how to use them safely," Daniel Peart, the director of government affairs for Phantom Fireworks, said. "I can't tell you how to do something illegal… It's the educational component that has a profound impact on fireworks-related injuries and more specifically the decrease."
If DeWine signs the bill now, the law wouldn't take effect until 2022.
