One unusual exception to Arizona’s tradition of libertarianism and individual responsibility has been its long-standing ban on fireworks for personal use, even around the Fourth of July. Both the Sonoran Desert and the Arizona High Country tend to be dry tinderboxes at that time of year, and most people seem to accept that putting pyrotechnics on the open market would be a fiery disaster.

But there’s a segment of the population, frequently out-of-state transplants like myself, that wishes state law wasn’t quite so strict when it comes to sparklers. There are plenty of good childhood memories tied to these handheld fireworks that can light up the night. People assume sparklers are relatively safe because they don’t explode, although fire safety experts claim otherwise.

Anyway, there has been a long-running campaign to make sparklers legal in Arizona, going back 15 years or more. The cause has a deep well of enthusiasm from state lawmakers eager to champion the public’s right to show their patriotism with a white-hot glow.

But this campaign always has been doused in the end by firefighters who just hate fireworks  — because they are usually the first people to see the physical damage when fireworks are used improperly (as my grandfather, a volunteer firefighter for 55 years, told us kids all the time).

The sparkler issue is back at the Legislature again this year. Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services has to be the only journalist in the state who has covered every flicker of this topic. He is suggesting that supporters have their best opportunty ever to finally fire up their 1,000-degree sticks. Gov. Jan Brewer voted for sparklers when she was in the Legislature, in this campaign’s early days.

Of course, Brewer might have different outlook now, especially after a parade of firefighters knock on her office door to tell her all sorts of horror stories about children with third-degree burns and missing eyes or fingers. Why do I suspect sparklers are going to remain illegal this year?