Hello, I’m From the FDA and I Am Here to Confiscate Your Laser

ElektroFreak said:

The aviation industry does have some clout, but whether they have clout enough to see to it that no American can legally possess high-powered handheld lasers is a different story.

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Of course it does and will.

Unless you can come up with a genuine argument for why they should not be banned, eventually they will be.
Unlike gun ownership, there is no huge, powerful lobby (NRA) fighting to preserve the right to own a 2W laser.
There is no counter-argument for why we should be allowed to have them.
There is nothing in the Constitution preserving our rights (and any 'rights' remaining can still be surrounded in red tape and control to make it pretty meaningless anyway - see Gun Control in Kalifornia)
I give it 12 months before even owning anything > 5mW will be a felony.

^Been said for years, not a bit of substance there. There is NOT and NEVER has been any requirement in the US that ALL DANGEROUS TOYS need a legitimate (work, science, research, etc.) reason for ownership. If that was the case, then 4th of July would be a whole lot less fun. Fireworks are far more dangerous than lasers if you look at the hard evidence (ie injuries and deaths). The aviation industry is powerful, but so is the other side of the argument, made up of those who value personal freedom. In the US there are many legislative checks and balances, which is why it's rare for ideas and positions that are at one extreme or the other to become law.

Isn't it the state's job to set up these kinds of rules?
Aren't there already federal laws in place criminalizing avionic illumination?
Isn't burning someones eyes out (aggravated assault or worse) already a crime?

I just fail to see the need for federal legislation on this issue.

Lasers obviously aren't the problem, Idiots are the problem. And even an idiot can build a laser out of a DVD burner - and they will. So a ban would solve nothing.

Enforce the laws we have. That is the solution.

I'm not 100% sure that it's the idiots 'fault'... let me explain...

You go to school and your teacher uses a pointer on the whiteboard. That's cool.

You go to a friends house and they are playing with their cat/dog with a laser pointer - you have great fun for an hour winding the animal up.

You see an ad on a typical laser selling web site about this megawatt laser that looks even cooler and hey, Star Wars was cool and that looks like a light sabre.

So when you get your new 2W laser for the price of a few hours shelf stacking at the local WalMart, you decide to play with your dog with it, who now starts bouncing off the furniture cos he's blind in one eye, you take it to school and show your friends and decide to flash that dipshit kid that you really hate, oops. Hmm, OK, now I'm bored so let's go 'shoot' at cars on the freeway for 'fun', hey d'ya see that helicopter, where?, let me show you with my new laser pointer.

See, the problem is perception and education. People do not know enough about them, they compare them to real laser pointers and have no understanding of the danger that they can out themselves and others in.

So, who is the cause of the problem - the web sites that sell them with no regard to who buys them and promotes them as being in some glorious way 'cool'.

steveclv said:

I'm not 100% sure that it's the idiots 'fault'... let me explain...

You go to school and your teacher uses a pointer on the whiteboard. That's cool.

You go to a friends house and they are playing with their cat/dog with a laser pointer - you have great fun for an hour winding the animal up.

You see an ad on a typical laser selling web site about this megawatt laser that looks even cooler and hey, Star Wars was cool and that looks like a light sabre.

So when you get your new 2W laser for the price of a few hours shelf stacking at the local WalMart, you decide to play with your dog with it, who now starts bouncing off the furniture cos he's blind in one eye, you take it to school and show your friends and decide to flash that dipshit kid that you really hate, oops. Hmm, OK, now I'm bored so let's go 'shoot' at cars on the freeway for 'fun', hey d'ya see that helicopter, where?, let me show you with my new laser pointer.

See, the problem is perception and education. People do not know enough about them, they compare them to real laser pointers and have no understanding of the danger that they can out themselves and others in.

So, who is the cause of the problem - the web sites that sell them with no regard to who buys them and promotes them as being in some glorious way 'cool'.

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so your saying it isn't their fault they are an idiot?

because you just described an idiot in your post.

though i do agree many vendors use very irresponsible advertising tactics.

Ha ha

Yes, you are probably right

madmacmo said:

d. Flashing the Space Shuttle

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:crackup::crackup:

My "practical" reasons for having lasers;

Pointing. - A class four laser can still be used as a pointer, just with a whole lot more care.
Entertainment. - Beams of light as fascinating to look at.
Demonstration. - Of what light can do, and laser safety.
Pest Control. - Great to use in the hard to reach places to get a bug to move.

Real reason - also entertainment. I love seeing beams of light slice through the air.

If someone questions the practicality of a laser, just ask them about the practicality of killing hours watching TV, or on youtube to shut them up.

Its not just the government you have to worry about....

Just remember, using a laser as a cat toy is patented. It has not yet expired. Your laser pointer manufacturers in theory owe him royalties every time you do that with kitty. :na

We have the recent law on the books making it a Federal felony for lighting up a plane.
Homeland/FAA showed great restraint in not asking for a full ban, when they went to Congress.
The powers that be could have easily asked for a full ban. They did not.
It took three years for that to happen. It would take just as long to enact a full ban. What more do you need...???

The law is on the books... Educate people about it, and toss a few idiots in the slammer for a few years. Pour encourager les Autres...

The downside is if someone is jailed, they get a decent life in low end club Fed, and my taxmoney pays for it. The other downside, is once convicted, it is very difficult for them to get a job, and my taxmoney pays for the welfare payments.

Steve

There needs to be more education about lasers. Some people just don't have any common sense (idiots) and don't think about what they are doing or pointing at, they just think it's cool and are trying to impress their buddies.

Some sellers don't care if it's buyers are educated on what not to do with a laser and really only care about making $$$$$ and makes kids think that they are Star Wars toys, that is what hurts or will hurt this hobby.

Just my opinion

Education has, and always will be the solution to this, and many other problems.

Unfortunately some people just don't want to learn.

00Giorge said:

they just think it's cool and are trying to impress their buddies.

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Nothing wrong with that

InfinitusEquitas said:

Education has, and always will be the solution to this, and many other problems.

Unfortunately some people just don't want to learn.



Nothing wrong with that

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Oh god your back?

00Giorge said:

Oh god your back?

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gentlemen, we're forgetting the obvious

lasers can be used to blind people. they are weapons.

if someone in the aurora theatre had a 2W 445 laser, they could have used it to stop the gunman. it is a situation where the laser is superior to the firearm (and best of all, they're non lethal)

and weapons are protected, under the second ammendment, which was made partly to provide "insurance" of freedom against government interference, and as a measure to prevent government interference and ensure the freedoms enshrined in the constitution, lasers are unbeatable, they can be used to blind attackers, destroy the optics of UAVs and certain missiles, and their components are an integral part of many entertainment products

they are the ultimate example of weapons which fulfil the intention of the second amendment, therefore the second ammendment should ensure their legality.

that, and the fact that it is almost impossible to prevent people building and using them. they'd have to ban CD and DVD players, game consoles, certain projectors, and a multitude of other things

not that i support the assholes who shine lasers at commercial jet liners.. doing so should be considered a terrorist act, as it endangers the lives of everyone on board that plane

tl;dr - the FDA shouldnt try to ban or control the proliferation of laser pointers, because there is a legal precedent which supports their legality, and it would be prohibitively expensive to do anything that would make a meaningful impact on the amount of lasers being built/traded

Could have stopped the Aurora theater shooting? Please explain how someone with nothing but a laser could have done that. Chances are you'd wind up having someone with blurry vision shooting randomly into the crowd, thats if he didn't notice your beam first in the darkened theater and have a nice bright target to shoot at.

dpup5520 said:

Could have stopped the Aurora theater shooting? Please explain how someone with nothing but a laser could have done that. Chances are you'd wind up having someone with blurry vision shooting randomly into the crowd, thats if he didn't notice your beam first in the darkened theater and have a nice bright target to shoot at.

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it would not have completely stopped him, but all it would take is one shot to the eyes, its much harder to shoot someone when you're blind

and the muzzle flash from a gun would make you stand out just as much, if not more than the shot from a laser would.

if they were resourceful, they could take the lens off, and have a beam wide enough to reliably hit the face, but still powerful enough to blind holmes, and force him to either close his eyes or turn around. it would definetly be enough to trigger the blink reflex

it would not have completely stopped him, but considering how few killshots he fired, for the amount of total shots he fired, the people in the theatre could only have benefited from him being less able to see. maybe it would mean a death toll of 4 or 5, and only a dozen or so injured, instead of 12 dead and over 80 injured.

i'd imagine he'd stop shooting at least for a few seconds, after realising that he's blind and can no longer aim