Gov. Mark Sanford last week vetoed a bill that would have allowed homeowners some control over the ignition of fireworks on the beach. The governor's apparent beef with the fireworks bill is its lack of structural perfection. Regardless, the veto constitutes a slight to which Grand Strand residents should object.

The bill in question is a compromise wrought by Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, with the S.C. fireworks industry. It would allow homeowners and homeowners associations limited fireworks control over public land adjacent to their properties.

Clemmons' bill relies on the same logic by which property owners can post no-hunting warnings on public land adjacent to their property. It would empower homeowners and condo associations to post no-fireworks signs on beaches in front of their properties and to alert the police when violations take place.

This is much more than a measure to empower owners of beachside property to fight back against fireworks noise - though that alone would be a worthy use of state power. The bill also recognizes that flying fireworks such as bottle rockets and Roman candles pose a threat to wooden structures, such as low-rise condos along Shore Drive, and the people who stay in them.

Similar structures in Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and North Myrtle Beach already enjoy fireworks protection. Municipal councils do have to power to enact bans and have done so. A few years back, Horry County Council was set to enact a similar ban to challenge the state law barring counties from fireworks regulation. The council gave up when it became clear that defending a ban would require high legal costs. The well-financed, politically connected S.C. fireworks industry is a formidable opponent.

This lesson was not lost on Clemmons. His objective was more modest than the county's: to give homeowners in unincorporated areas a way to reduce fireworks bother and danger. Fireworks lobbyists, rightly fearing that a condo firestorm along the beach could turn public sentiment against the industry, helped him get the bill through the S.C. House and Senate this year.

Sanford's concern, apparently, is that the bill is too confusing to apply. Maybe so, but what would have been wrong with signing the bill and letting the courts figure out how it should be applied?

The governor says he'll recommend that the General Assembly empower counties to ban or restrict fireworks. But thus far, his attempts to influence the legislature have been largely ineffectual.

The better course would be for the rest of the Horry County delegation to join Clemmons in organizing an override of the veto. Readers who think that's a good idea can help by writing letters of support to Clemmons at 320A Blatt Building, Columbia, SC 29211. Letters should reference House Bill 3409. This may be one quest where citizen intervention can swing political dynamics in favor of the public interest.