Sometimes you have to wonder if there is something in the water in Rhode Island. The organizers of the historic July 4 parade in Bristol have banned a citizens’ group, the Rhode Island Tea Party, from participating in future years because people who seemed to be linked to the group handed out copies of America’s founding documents — the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution — along the parade route.

Since the parade, which dates back to 1785, is a celebration of America and its cherished freedom, that would have to be eligible for some sort of prize for irony.

Maria Peterson, Tea Party treasurer, said she was told “not to waste the stamp to send in an application” for future appearances in the parade. Jim Tavares, chairman of the parade’s float committee, informed her the group, by handing out documents, broke “rules and regulations” spelled out in writing. (Both are from Bristol.)

The parade bans such handouts because children could be hurt rushing to receive them, he explained. “They endangered public safety,” Mr. Tavares said.

But Tea Party officials say that the handing out was done by people who had no connection to the group, though some wore the same yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” T-shirts as the Tea Party folks. And, in any event, Ms. Peterson said, the parade rules bar “solicitation” — and the founding documents hardly solicit anything, other than independence from the British crown and allegiance to self-rule and limited government. (Some of the copies, though, may have included a solicitation to join the conservative Heritage Foundation.) Meanwhile, by some reports, other participants “dangerously” handed out items without being banned: A dairy flyer provided the prices of milk, eggs and butter, and a politician dispensed business cards.

Maybe a deep breath, a little common sense and some old-fashioned neighborliness are called for, before the ACLU or some other legal entity gets dragged into this.

The parade organizers should rescind their ban. The Tea Party folks should pledge not to physically endanger anyone in the course of participating.

And the founding documents should be able to be distributed — in the spirit of the First Amendment — without causing too much of a ruckus or threatening the life and limb of spectators.