Laser license?

People need a license to carry firearms, why not make it a requirement to get a license to carry a high powered laser? this would cut down on the number of irresponsible people with high powered lasers, while protecting the rights of others to carry a laser with them.

some of you might ask.. wouldn't it be hard to enforce? i'll ask you, isn't the gun license the same concept? thats enforced pretty well (i think)

what do you guys think?

I'm responsible with my laser. I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that. I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

zachlr said:

I'm responsible with my laser.  I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that.  I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

Click to expand...

its called life, and it sucks!

this happens with everything. a couple bad things ruin it for the rest of us.

but i am 110% for making people get licenses. even for under 5mw lasers

thesk8nmidget said:

[quote author=zachlr link=1225750362/0#1 date=1225750807]I'm responsible with my laser.  I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that.  I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

Click to expand...

its called life, and it sucks!

this happens with everything. a couple bad things ruin it for the rest of us.

but i am 110% for making people get licenses. even for under 5mw lasers


[/quote]


yup! people carry around firearms.. a laser is like a silent gun..



@zachlr - i totally understand that (i just turned 18 a few months ago) and i know how you feel. but its for the best of everyone else. i'm sure people find ways around buying illegal guns, but the requirement of a license restricts all but the most dedicated people from obtaining a firearm illegally

zachlr said:

I'm responsible with my laser.  I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that.  I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

Click to expand...

I'm with zachlr on this one.  Think about the percentage of active members on this forum who are under 18.  I think it's somewhere around 40%, although I could be wrong.  We would be completely excluded from lasers.  Also, wouldn't somebody need a "valid" reason to own a laser?  What do we use lasers for?  Burning things and shining them into the night sky are not what society would consider to be productive, so they would not want people owning lasers for recreation alone.  

Additionally, for every 1 idiot with a powerful laser, there are many more innocent and safe people that would not misuse it.  Why should the masses be penalized for the poor actions of the few?  If they are going to make a license necessary to own and operate lasers, they might as well do the same for knives (even kitchen knives), because knives result in MANY more killings than lasers.  

thesk8nmidget said:

its called life, and it sucks!

this happens with everything. a couple bad things ruin it for the rest of us.

but i am 110% for making people get licenses. even for under 5mw lasers

Click to expand...

Just because life may not be fair doesn't mean we can't try to make it as good as possible. We don't have to let a few idiots ruin this for us. And I am definitely against licenses for lasers under 5mW. They have been proven to not be able to cause permanent harm unless the eyelid is held open, making them safe for everyday use. Laser pointers are a valuable tool for teaching and presenting, and I personally think that there is no good reason why lasers under 5mW should be banned to the general public. It would probably create more problems than it would solve.

-Mark

if lasers get banned here completely I'm moving back to Asia.. I don't care what country where ever it's legal and I could get a job to support myself

rocketparrotlet said:

[quote author=zachlr link=1225750362/0#1 date=1225750807]I'm responsible with my laser.  I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that.  I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

Click to expand...

I'm with zachlr on this one.  Think about the percentage of active members on this forum who are under 18.  I think it's somewhere around 40%, although I could be wrong.  We would be completely excluded from lasers.  Also, wouldn't somebody need a "valid" reason to own a laser?  What do we use lasers for?  Burning things and shining them into the night sky are not what society would consider to be productive, so they would not want people owning lasers for recreation alone.  

Additionally, for every 1 idiot with a powerful laser, there are many more innocent and safe people that would not misuse it.  Why should the masses be penalized for the poor actions of the few?  If they are going to make a license necessary to own and operate lasers, they might as well do the same for knives (even kitchen knives), because knives result in MANY more killings than lasers.  

thesk8nmidget said:

its called life, and it sucks!

this happens with everything. a couple bad things ruin it for the rest of us.

but i am 110% for making people get licenses. even for under 5mw lasers

Click to expand...

Just because life may not be fair doesn't mean we can't try to make it as good as possible.  We don't have to let a few idiots ruin this for us.  And I am definitely against licenses for lasers under 5mW.  They have been proven to not be able to cause permanent harm unless the eyelid is held open, making them safe for everyday use.  Laser pointers are a valuable tool for teaching and presenting, and I personally think that there is no good reason why lasers under 5mW should be banned to the general public.  It would probably create more problems than it would solve.  

-Mark[/quote]


yea i know.. low powered lasers wont need licenses.. you dont need a license to carry around an airsoft or paintball gun do you? i'm talking about the big lasers 50mw+ would be a good start

If they claim that lasers are 'weapons', then wouldn't a valid reason for owning one be for protection? Gun hobbyists will obviously say that their guns are for protection, even if they are never loaded.

GooeyGus said:

If they claim that lasers are 'weapons', then wouldn't a valid reason for owning one be for protection? Gun hobbyists will obviously say that their guns are for protection, even if they are never loaded.

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I suppose you could blind someone, giving you time to get away. But still, you'd still have to be an adult, just like with weapons.

I think that something like that would be too complicated - what constitutes a laser "pointer", legally speaking? That would have to be defined first. And would the license be for only pointers or all lasers over 5mw? Then there are plenty of people who build their own lasers from various parts; portable and not. Guns don't have this sort of ambiguity and ease of self-construction.

I think it would just invite more government regulation where none is needed. Banning certain types of lasers isn't the answer either. It's fully legal to have a BB gun or paintball gun, for instance, but there are certain things you could do with one of those that are illegal, like shoot at someone (who isn't involved in playing paintball, of course) or damage other people's property. IMO lasers, portable or otherwise, should be in that sort of category - no license needed, legal to have, but if you do illegal things with it you face the legal consequences.

Blinding people and pointing lasers at things you shouldn't are already, in general, illegal. Why do you need another law?

r34p3rex said:

[quote author=thesk8nmidget link=1225750362/0#2 date=1225751796][quote author=zachlr link=1225750362/0#1 date=1225750807]I'm responsible with my laser. I don't shine it at planes or cars or anything like that. I wouldn't be able to have one though because I am under 18, why punish me for other idiots' actions, who are going to find ways around it anyway?

Click to expand...

its called life, and it sucks!

this happens with everything. a couple bad things ruin it for the rest of us.

but i am 110% for making people get licenses. even for under 5mw lasers


[/quote]


yup! people carry around firearms.. a laser is like a silent gun..



@zachlr - i totally understand that (i just turned 18 a few months ago) and i know how you feel. but its for the best of everyone else. i'm sure people find ways around buying illegal guns, but the requirement of a license restricts all but the most dedicated people from obtaining a firearm illegally[/quote]


A laser is nothing like a silent gun, lasers have been around for 46 years and not once in that whole time has a person been killed by one, how many people do you think have been killed by guns in that 46 years ?

-Adam

if they outlaw lasers people will still get them, it will just make it hard for the people that want to use it responsibly. if you outlaw guns you will just be taking it away from the law abiding citizens and not the criminals. same with any other weapon :-/

maxkillz said:

if lasers get banned here completely I'm moving back to Asia.. I don't care what country where ever it's legal and I could get a job to support myself

Click to expand...

i would move down to mexico, dont know if they are legal there, but you can always drink beer

Schrecken_Licht said:

I think that something like that would be too complicated - what constitutes a laser "pointer", legally speaking?  That would have to be defined first.  And would the license be for only pointers or all lasers over 5mw? Then there are plenty of people who build their own lasers from various parts; portable and not.  Guns don't have this sort of ambiguity and ease of self-construction.

I think it would just invite more government regulation where none is needed.  Banning certain types of lasers isn't the answer either.  It's fully legal to have a BB gun or paintball gun, for instance, but there are certain things you could do with one of those that are illegal, like shoot at someone (who isn't involved in playing paintball, of course) or damage other people's property.  IMO lasers, portable or otherwise, should be in that sort of category - no license needed, legal to have, but if you do illegal things with it you face the legal consequences.

Click to expand...

Exactly.

-Mark

I love to see people advocate bigger and more intrusive government instead of demanding personal responsibility.  
Oh well -- Americans have allowed many of their freedoms and cash to disappear over the years and we are no better off now..  

Regulation ----- registration ----- confiscation.    It's happened in the past and it will come here. SOON

Mike