It’s NYE. Don’t shoot!! I spoke to reporter Pat Loeb about America’s long history with celebratory gunfire.
Listen to the KYW Newsradio story here or read the transcript below.
A Warning for Revelers
Philadelphia was one of the first cities in the country — in the colonies, actually — to outlaw celebratory gunfire. But every year, law enforcement officials have to plead with residents not to fire guns into the air on New Year’s Eve.
In 1721, the governor of Pennsylvania imposed a five-shilling fine, or two days in jail, for anyone who fired a gun into the air in Philadelphia.
“I thought it was a pretty interesting part of American history that this has been such a pervasive problem for so long,” said University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor Thomas Chittum.
He has written about the phenomenon of celebratory gunfire, which was also outlawed in New York for three days surrounding New Year’s and in Boston in 1746, when the fine was up to 40 shillings.
“You’d hope that people after hundreds of years of experience would start to see the wisdom of not shooting guns in the air,” he said.
Alas, the practice continues, with often tragic results. Last New Year’s Eve, a 16-year-old girl in Chester, Delaware County, was critically wounded when a bullet, apparently fired randomly, entered her bedroom. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel is once again pleading with gun owners to keep them locked up for the holiday.
“Just remember, whatever you put into the air will come down,” he said. “I want you to close your eyes and think about your family being out during the New Year’s celebration and that bullet coming down and striking them.”
[You can find a link to my article about the legal history of celebratory gunfire published on Duke University School of Law’s Center for Firearms Law Second Thoughts blog here.]
Happy New Year!🎊