REMEMBER: What Goes Up Comes Down

New Year’s Eve Celebrating: Be Responsible

This New Year’s Eve, officials remind city residents not to fire weapons into the air.

“What goes up must come down,” said Brazil City Police Chief Clint McQueen about how the force of gravity should be on everyone’s mind. “You fire a gun in the air, or even fireworks. It is going to come down somewhere.”

McQueen said that any projectile fired into the air could be a safety problem when it lands in the city’s four-mile radius.

“It could cause damage to property, cars, and people or pets,” said McQueen about the safety issue. “It’s just reckless and dangerous.”

While McQueen believes most city residents understand the safety issue involved, he is concerned about new gun owners.

“With the state changing the current laws to carry handguns, there might be some new gun owners who are not as well-versed on what they should know to do and not do with a firearm, shotgun rifle, or handgun. Actually, any type of weapon that shoots projectiles in the air can be very dangerous if the person is not responsible.

Law enforcement recently responded to a call of shots fired in the city, which is not legal.

“We take every report seriously,” McQueen said about investigating shots reported. “Patrol officers take that very seriously because they don’t know what they’re going into.”

McQueen said it is very important for the public to act responsibly when it comes to weapons and when it comes to drinking.

McQueen said if people are going to celebrate the New Year holiday with adult libations, they need to expect the alcohol will affect them.

“There could be the possibility for some people to be driving home that maybe shouldn’t drive home,” said McQueen, who urges people planning on celebrating the New Year with drinks to have a designated driver. “Some people don’t even plan to drink, but maybe change their mind when they get to a party. That’s happened with people before; they decided to be designated drivers, and it didn’t turn out that way. I think it’s important to have a backup to that backup, someone you can call if needed. I can’t tell you how often officers hear at a crash scene, ‘I only had a few drinks.’ Even if you have one drink, it will affect your system. If you think it’s not, you live in a fantasy world. We want everybody to have a safe holiday and be responsible.”

Shooting weapons into the air or getting into a car if you’ve had a drink is not the way to start a New Year, according to McQueen.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “You might get away with it once or 100 times, but sooner or later, nothing good will come of it. We don’t want to see that happen.”