Rep. Kriesel: Minnesotans Can Handle Bottle Rockets
ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- The sponsor of a bill that would legalize fireworks in Minnesota beyond handheld sparklers and ground-based worms says Minnesotan's are responsible enough to handle it.
John Kriesel, an Iraq war veteran and the republican lawmaker from Cottage Grove, defended his drive to legalize the dazzling surface-to-air bottle rockets that are currently illegal in Minnesota.
"The fireworks industry has seen a 920 percent increase in consumption since 1976. And during the same period, a 90 percent decline in fireworks related injuries," Kriesel told WCCO Radio's John Hines Tuesday morning.
Kriesel also argued against the idea that injuries will rise if fireworks are made legal because, he says, "Minnesotans are using them already."
Kriesel's bill still faces an uphill battle with most first responders and medical professionals opposing the measure.
