As usual, the Woodbridge Village Association did its part to increase small particulate matter in the local ecosystem on July 4th. But at least their show was prettier than the one most PM polluters put on.
Every year I try to experiment with something different, and in 2022 I decided to (a) use a long exposure to catch more fireworks in a single image and (b) show other people watching the fireworks. But it turned out that the long exposure time had a benefit I hadn't counted on:
As you can see, the smoke in the background is nicely blurred out and less distracting than usual. However, this is an otherwise undistinguished picture, so here's another one that I like better.
I love fireworks. Those look great.
I like the first one better
Did you check with the cats on the joys of fireworks?
None of ours were enthusiastic. At all.
Nice! Were these professional-size fireworks? Our neighborhood, as usual, went totally mad with illegal fireworks. They went on until nearly 11pm, from innumerable individual households, scattered over several blocks. (And let's not discuss the rest of the city...)
The cat didn't seem particularly fussed.
Speaking of fireworks, what are the stats on mass shootings during the assault weapons ban and in the years after it expired?
Assault weapons ban did cause a drop in gun violence with assault weapons.
As for mass shootings, also have to take into account number of guns on the street. People planning attacks and trying to make a statement seem to like assault style weapons. We have seen a lot of those recently. There have also been a lot of "run of the mill" mass shootings--family affairs, arguments blowing up into gun violence, drive-bys, and now shooting at cops. Most of these are done by hand guns.
Not quit what you asked, but:
https://everytownresearch.org/maps/mass-shootings-in-america/
Note: for Everytown, a mass shooting is one where at least four people are shot and killed, not including the shooter.
Here's what you were looking for:
https://theconversation.com/did-the-assault-weapons-ban-of-1994-bring-down-mass-shootings-heres-what-the-data-tells-us-184430