The voters have spoken

So 9,602 people have voted for or against fireworks in this city of 120,000-plus people. Voting for the ban was 6,382 with, 3,220 votes against.

City Council President Dana Ralph was quoted in the Kent Reporter as saying, “… we were looking for what the voters wanted and it’s pretty clear what they want.”

Council, because you will be making your decision based on the vote of 6,382 people in Kent that do not want fireworks as it disturbs their lives for a few days a year, please listen to these people and ban all fireworks in the city of Kent, including the show at Lake Meridian. Any support for this show would go against what is being asked for by the voters – a ban on fireworks in the city of Kent commercial or not. It’s pretty clear what the voters want.

Council, do you truly concede that you can make a decision based on the votes of less than 10 percent of the population of this city or one police ride-along?

Unfortunately, I know the answer is yes, as some of you have already made your thoughts public. Right or wrong of the tens of thousands of registered voters in this city that didn’t cast a ballot, but it would show the ineptness of the council should they support this measure based on the voices of the few.

I recognize that when this passes I will be in violation of, not a law, but an anti-American city code. Please know that when I am ticketed with my fireworks that I now have to buy from the Indian reservation I will have my $250 ready, a small price to pay to show my kids what it is to carry on an American tradition, and more importantly a small price not to bow down to a government that will be acting on behalf of a limited number of complainers.

Is trick-or-treating next to be ban as a kid knocking on a person’s door is also a disturbance? I ask you to put this to a vote.

It’s a slippery slope.

– J. Edward