Happy July 4th!

[L Verge]

Kate - my neighbors may agree with you about fireworks being legal in Maryland 'cause they were setting them off all around us last night until midnight. However, they are not really legal in all of Maryland. See below:

Fireworks are part of Baltimore's July 4th celebrations, but what fireworks are legal in Maryland?

The answer is not too many. Unless part of a public display (approved by the local fire department), most fireworks are illegal in Maryland. In these counties, there is an outright ban of all consumer fireworks.

Baltimore City
Prince George's
Montgomery

However, sparklers containing no chlorates or perchlorates, and ground-based sparkling devices that are non-aerial and non-explosive are permitted in most of the rest of the state.
Typically this includes “gold label” sparklers, “snap-n-pops,” “black snakes,” and “Champagne party poppers.” The sale of sparklers to persons under the age of 16 is illegal.
These counties and municipalities ban ground-based sparklers:

Harford County
Howard County
Ocean City

Sparklers (both hand-held and ground-based that are legal according to Maryland state law) are allowed in Baltimore County. Possession and/or use of illegal fireworks in Maryland could mean confiscation and fines up to $250.

Now, how strictly the codes are enforced is another topic. We have a police station less than a mile from our neighborhood, but those fireworks kept on going. It sure beat tackling the traffic to get downtown to see D.C.'s national display. Worse yet is trying to get out of D.C. when the fireworks have ended!