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Orozco, Norma
<br />From:
<br />Lopez, Jessie
<br />Sent:
<br />Sunday, December 19, 2021 9:26 PM
<br />To:
<br />eComment
<br />Subject:
<br />FW: Potential Safe and Sane Fireworks Ban
<br />From: Deborah Gillen <deborah_gillen@yahoo.com>
<br />Sent: Friday, December 17, 2021 7:08 PM
<br />To: Penaloza, David <DPenaloza@santa-ana.org>; Bacerra, Phil <pbacerra@santa-ana.org>; Mendoza, Nelida
<br /><nmendoza@santa-ana.org>; Lopez, Jessie <JessieLopez@santa-ana.org>; Phan, Thai <TPhan@santa-ana.org>
<br />Cc: Sarmiento, Vicente <VSarmiento@santa-ana.org>
<br />Subject: Potential Safe and Sane Fireworks Ban
<br />Honorable Council Members Penaloza, Bacerra, Mendoza, Lopez, and Phan:
<br />I wish to express my deep disagreement with the proposal to ban the sale of Safe and Sane fireworks in the city of Santa Ana.
<br />The argument that banning these State Fire Marshal -approved Safe and Sane Fireworks will somehow reduce the incidence of illegal
<br />explosives is a false equivalency. My husband and I have lived in Santa Ana for over 46 years. In that time the frequency of illegal
<br />fireworks has increased significantly; we hear them year-round now, at Christmas and New Year, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, as well as
<br />other random times. We have neighbors who fire them off regularly, year round, (and reporting this to law enforcement and fire
<br />authorities yields zero reduction in their use). Granted there is a ridiculous amount of the illegal fireworks around Independence Day,
<br />but I do not think that anyone can make a correlation between this egregious violation of the law and the legal sale of humble Safe and
<br />Sane Fireworks. In fact I would be very interested in knowing how many incidents either police or fire personnel recorded that were
<br />directly related to Safe and Sane Fireworks, and whether those incidents could be related in any way to the use of illegal fireworks. I
<br />suspect the data would not support any connection.
<br />My husband has been the leader of our church's fireworks booth for more than 25 years. Every year our fireworks vendor provides
<br />educational materials that make it clear what is and is not legal. We make sure that all the volunteers who work in our booth are well -
<br />aware of what is allowed, starting with sales only to those 18 and older. Occasionally someone will come to our booth and ask about
<br />bottle rockets, M-80's, or aerial displays, and we always explain that anything that leaves the ground or explodes is illegal not only in
<br />Santa Ana, but the entire state of California. We post signs in English and Spanish on the booth and hand out literature provided by
<br />OCFA, and we especially welcome the opportunity to educate children about why those items are unsafe and illegal.
<br />Banning the Safe and Sane Fireworks will have no impact on the use of illegal fireworks.
<br />What it will have an impact on are the many, many non -profits that rely on fireworks sales as their primary fundraiser. Our church has
<br />had a booth for many years, and in that time we have paid for camping experiences for our children and teens as well as providing
<br />funds for students in the school we once supported and a Boy Scout troop. For several years now the funds have provided $1,000
<br />scholarships for college students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college. They have been used to attend local
<br />community colleges, various colleges and universities in California and across the country, and some graduate schools. Our most
<br />recent sales resulted in scholarships for 19 students. Without the profits from fireworks there is no way we could help these young
<br />people.
<br />I teach theatre in a high school in Orange, where all fireworks are illegal. I can assure you that I spend an inordinate amount of time
<br />raising funds for my program. All of us who are involved in extra -curricular activities often feel as if in addition to our teaching we
<br />have a second full-time job arranging sales of chocolate, popcorn, candy, restaurant nights, golf tournaments, and a wide range of
<br />other events; parents and students are exhausted by the constant begging for funds. Believe me, if I could raise over $15,000 dollars in
<br />only 4 days with the help of volunteer parents, I would welcome it so that I could focus on my primary responsibility of teaching and
<br />directing. Here in Santa Ana, athletic boosters, Scouts, Little League and soccer leagues, as well various service groups, are fortunate
<br />to have this option; there is no way they can ever have enough bake sales to make that kind of money for their groups. Nearly all of
<br />these groups directly benefit the children and youth of Santa Ana; if the Council bans this means of fundraising, are they prepared to
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