Let's keep things in perspective. He said he lives in an unsafe neighborhood. He's not suggesting at all this device should be pointed at anyone for any purpose other than for personal defense. Flashlights with strobe can be used for the same purpose and that's what he's done with this laser by putting an external lens that spreads the beam turning it into a flashlight.
If you had your laser with you one night or day and you were in a situation of personal eminent danger from someone else would you not use your laser as a defense tool with no option to run away?
There's no law that I can find prohibiting anyone from using a light producing device as a personal defense tool.
Blinding someone with a laser is a war crime, and he is using the invisible 808nm light, it's like filling a super soaker with battery acid to use for self defense, any jury would find you guilty of pre meditated intent to maim, a bright flashlight and a can of pepper spray would be the right way to go.
Blinding lasers will land you in prison, there are laws against doing that for any reason and pre meditated would be an aggravating factor.
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I have to agree with this. I find it slightly worrying that we have a huge thread on this forum dedicated to Americans' God given right (as it were) to carry around assault rifles in public yet there's an outrage at this? Priorities people, priorities.
You can see a man carrying a rifle, you can deter an attacker with a gun without firing, but an 808nm laser will focus through a human eyes lens and burn a small hole in a persons retina releasing blood from the brooks layer of veins behind the retina into the vicious humor, this will make sight impossible, as looking through maroon mud, then the retina will likely detach causing permeant blindness.
If the optic nerve gets hit instant and permeant blindness can occur.
The fovea is a tiny dimple with tightly packed nerves that give us all our detailed vision, it's a tiny spot, an 808nm laser could obliterate it faster than you can blink. 0.25 seconds
As 808nm is invisible an attacker has no warning to retreat, it would be interpreted by a jury as a cruel and malicious premeditated intent to surreptitiously maim.
Much like coating your door knob with cyanide to stop a burglar.
The rifle is like a big toothy dog on a leash, it's a deterrent that does not have to do damage to offer protection, simply brandishing it can protect you, use of an invisible blinding laser is a war crime.
Visible dazzler lasers are a huge risk as what stuns one person can permanently blind another, it's a matter of blood flow and eye health, the distance and energy calculation is critical, this is why American police don't use dazzler lasers, but swat team robots do.
