Rep. Marsha Looper set off some verbal fireworks Friday at the Capitol by trying to preserve pyrotechnics for the Fourth of July.

But Looper, R-Calhan, failed to kill a bill that would allow counties to regulate the sale and use of fireworks. House Bill 1092 is expected to pass the full House on Monday.

For Looper, the bill is an assault on a centuries-old tradition that is as essential to July Fourth as barbecues and apple pie.

"This is an assault on small businesses and the right to celebrate our freedom," Looper said. "We've been doing it for hundreds of years on Independence Day. For rural people, we celebrate the Fourth of July by going out and buying legal fireworks and setting them off."

Looper, who lives on a ranch outside Calhan, argued that as many as 307 small operators who sell fireworks could be put out of business if counties decide to ban fireworks.

She said two of her constituents are a high school math teacher and his wife who supplement their salaries with summer sales of fireworks. She also said that the business is heavily regulated and that only a tiny percentage of wildfires in the state are the result of fireworks.

The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Mike Cerbo, D-Denver, said nothing has to change in Looper's district. Rural counties may decide not to regulate the sale or use of fireworks at all. But, Cerbo said, fireworks have become a noisy nuisance and a danger in densely populated cities.

"It's an issue in west Denver," Cerbo said. "People have easy access to illegal fireworks just by going down to Sheridan, an area that's in unincorporated Arapahoe County.

"It's the noise, fire danger and a hazard to children," Cerbo said.

Last year, Cerbo tried to ban fireworks statewide. This year, he softened the measure, giving counties local control.

He said that in his district, people begin setting off fireworks in June and don't stop until August. Often, the noise disrupts neighbors and injuries spike when people don't know how to safely handle fireworks.

Cerbo scoffed at the idea that he's dousing the fun for Coloradans celebrating July Fourth.

"That's silly. We have such wonderful displays of fireworks over the Fourth. It's a fun family experience. In rural areas, the kids can go off and take some fireworks to the edge of town. In the urban areas, it's a different ball game."

Cerbo believes his bill will pass the House. In the Senate, Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, is sponsoring the measure.

McCrimmonK@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2502.