Whether or not you obey the laws of man, there are two sets of laws a person should never attempt to break. The first would be God’s law. That is simple enough.

The second may be a set of laws most of us may not be well versed in, but we all should understand. That set of laws would be that of physics.

Wednesday, officials with the Dallas County Sheriffs Department and those with the Selma Police Department urged area residents to observe such laws of physics when they asked them not to shoot their firearms into the air to mark the New Year.

Again, simple request and very understandable, but maybe a little explanation is in order.

You see, according to the laws of physics, basically everything that goes up must come down. And, when those bullets fired into the air come down, they will land somewhere, and there is a chance as small as it is, that bullet could land on someone potentially causing serious injury or death.

Whatever happened to the days of simply going up to a loved one and giving them a kiss as the clock struck midnight on New Years? Whatever happened to a simple “Happy New Year” to your good friend?

When did it ever become tradition to fire a potentially deadly weapon straight into the air to celebrate anything?

I know we’ve seen such things in old western movies and from footage of riots in some Middle Eastern countries, but Selma is neither located in the Middle East or the old west.

We should know better.

With as much gun violence as our communities have experienced in recent weeks, it would be nice to start the New Year off with a quiet evening.

We know our deputies and police officers would appreciate it as well.