Snowball fights were illegal in one Colorado town, until a 9-year-old boy stepped in

Since 1921, the town of Severance, Colorado, has prohibited snowball fights, classifying the ice-cold weapons as "missiles" under public ordinance.

But thanks to the efforts of 9-year-old Dane Best, kids of all ages may now legally lob snowballs at one another within city limits. The third-grader convinced his town's board to overturn the ban after appealing to officials during a public meeting on Monday.

What are the details?

After finding out about the town's ban a month-and-a-half ago, Dane asked his mother, Brooke Semmen Best, to get the law changed for him.

"I said, 'I'm not going to fight to change the law. If you feel this is something you want changed, then let's take the steps and see if it's something you could do,'" Semmen Best told ABC News.

So, Dane met with Severance town administrator Kyle Rietkerk last month, who explained to the boy that he would need to make his case in front of the town's board members. Dane's appeal was placed on the agenda for the board's Dec. 3 meeting.

Dane then researched the benefits of snowball freedom and compiled his talking points into a PowerPoint slideshow. He also convinced his friends to write letters of support for their shared cause in defending their God-given snowball-warrior rights.

During Dane's presentation to the panel on Monday, he argued, "Research suggests that a lack of exposure to the outdoors can lead to obesity, ADHD, anxiety and depression," and explained that "Kids want to have snowball fights without breaking the law — kids want to have a voice in our town."

Further bolstering his position, Dane presented the board members with 20 letters from his classmates, urging officials to overturn the nearly century-old ban.

In a powerful closing statement, the 9-year-old pleaded: "The children of Severance want the opportunity to have snowball fights like the rest of the world."

What did the board decide?

The board voted unanimously to legalize snowball fights.

"Sounds like you just changed the law!"

9-year-old Dane Best argued his case for making snowballs legal to the town board, who voted unanimously to lift the 100-year-old ban; Dane and his brother threw the first legal snowballs that afternoon! https://t.co/ZI1x2LTkCI pic.twitter.com/AXo93Q96aq
— ABC News (@ABC) December 5, 2018