These are the Laws I think should be in place for lasers in the US

[brendon7358]

Instead of a complete ban on importing any laser over 1mw I think these laws should be put in place instead.
These laws would be for handheld lasers only
1. Any laser <5mw Can be imported/owned by anyone of any age
2. Any laser <100mw Can be imported/owned by anyone over the age of 13 as long as they have taken a laser safety class*
3. Any laser <500mw Can be imported/owned by anyone over the age of 15 as long as they have taken a laser safety class* and have no criminal record
4. Any laser <1000mw Can be imported/owned by anyone over the age of 18 as long as they have taken a laser safety class* and have no criminal record
5. Any lasers exceeding 1W has a requirement of the person being over the age of 21, have completed a laser safety course* and has purchased a laser license** and has no criminal record
6. Every laser over 5mw sold in the US must have a serial number

*Laser safety class
A class which should be made for laser safety maybe cost's around $50 to take the class the class should be anywhere from 5 to 10 hours long discussing laser safety procedures and educating people on laser safety (similar to a gun safety class)

**Laser License
A license needed for any laser over 1W the cost of the laser license is $10 per watt over 1W in order to purchase the license the person must have taken a laser safety class, be over 21, and have no criminal record. A written exam must be passed as well. The license would be renewed each year.

What do you guys think ? :thanks: for reading

 

[benmwv]

I think you have a gap between 500mw and 1w.

I don't agree that all 14 year olds can handle a 100mw laser. Very few would use them safely.

I think its fine how it is, where lab units are legal to buy, 5mw pointers are legal, and any other handhelds you have to be able to build yourself (or illegally order from china ). No need to try and impose extra regulations.

 

[brendon7358]

I think you have a gap between 500mw and 1w.

I don't agree that all 14 year olds can handle a 100mw laser. Very few would use them safely.

I think its fine how it is, where lab units are legal to buy, 5mw pointers are legal, and any other handhelds you have to be able to build yourself (or illegally order from china ). No need to try and impose extra regulations.

I think these regulations should replace the old regulations not extra regulations. Some people don't want to build it themselves and it would be much more convenient if lasers could be sold publicly as long as the correct requirements are filled then there could be a laser shop like a hobby shop where you could buy parts for lasers and buy fully built lasers as well.

 

[Sigurthr]

Regulation and licensing are good ideas, but I don't agree with your structure.

I would suggest;
<5mW no restrictions.
5mW to 99mW Laser License Required.
>100mW Over 18 only and requires Laser License.

Licensing would entail a small fee and a written examination.

This all of course means nothing with the current inability to prevent the import of >5mW lasers.

 

[brendon7358]

Regulation and licensing are good ideas, but I don't agree with your structure.

I would suggest;
<5mW no restrictions.
5mW to 99mW Laser License Required.
>100mW Over 18 only and requires Laser License.

Licensing would entail a small fee and a written examination.

This all of course means nothing with the current inability to prevent the import of >5mW lasers.

Well I do not think 100mW Over 18 only and requires Laser License would be fair sure there are a lot of immature teenagers out there but not all of them are, I myself am 16 and Therefore I would only be able to use a <99mw laser ? I would be fine with taking a laser safety class but I think the limit should be around <300mw minimum for under 18.

 

[Benm]

I don't see why age should be a factor at all.

If you go for a licensing scheme, just passing the required exam should be sufficient to allow a person to operate a laser of the allowed power level that comes with it.

In reality i doubt it would be effective though... i've taken and passed several required exams to work with things or in sectors (from radiological safety to running a bar) and found the mandatory exams to be extremely simple.

 

[Dave934]

:tsk:I think I need a Drink:gun: Capt Morgan Anyone:beer:

 

[grenadier]

You all do realize that if somebody even suggests laser laws to congress that every laser > class II would be banned from civilian ownership, right?

 

[TheTeslaWarrior]

**Laser License
A license needed for any laser over 1W the cost of the laser license is $10 per watt over 1W in order to purchase the license the person must have taken a laser safety class, be over 21, and have no criminal record. The license would be renewed each year.

So for my SSY-1, that would be ~10 times the price of the laser every year.


And what about co2 laser cutters? They have incredibly high output powers but enough safety features to make them Class II.


Why not just ban >5mW handheld lasers with no safety featur... OWAIT

 

[brendon7358]

So for my SSY-1, that would be ~10 times the price of the laser every year.


And what about co2 laser cutters? They have incredibly high output powers but enough safety features to make them Class II.


Why not just ban >5mW handheld lasers with no safety featur... OWAIT

You bring up a good point maybe these laws would only apply to handheld lasers and different laws for high power laser cutters and such

 

[Ghostchrome]

Serial numbers! Don't forget that each laser should have a serial number on it so people don't just take the laser class, and sell the lasers that they buy on the secondary market - like smokes and beer to underage kids.

:undecided:

It's a slippery slope. Do you really want MORE laser laws?

 

[brendon7358]

Serial numbers! Don't forget that each laser should have a serial number on it so people don't just take the laser class, and sell the lasers that they buy on the secondary market - like smokes and beer to underage kids.

:undecided:

It's a slippery slope. Do you really want MORE laser laws?

Well it may be more laws but at least then we would not have to worry about Custom's or immature people ruining it for everyone. It would give us more freedom at the cost of more restrictions.

 

[ARG]

I think the current laws in the US are just fine. Anyone who wants a higher powered can build one themselves, and if they can build one than they are probably intelligent enough to understand the risks and dangers of high powered lasers.

Lab lasers of all powers should be allowed though, as it's harder to do something stupid with those when you are confined by a power cable...

 

[brendon7358]

I think the current laws in the US are just fine. Anyone who wants a higher powered can build one themselves, and if they can build one than they are probably intelligent enough to understand the risks and dangers of high powered lasers.

Lab lasers of all powers should be allowed though, as it's harder to do something stupid with those when you are confined by a power cable...

Sure anyone that wants a laser could build one themselves and would understand the risk's but don't you think it would be much more convenient if you could go to a laser shop and buy some laser parts and be able to see them before you buy them and not have to wait for 3week + shipping ?

I don't see why age should be a factor at all.

If you go for a licensing scheme, just passing the required exam should be sufficient to allow a person to operate a laser of the allowed power level that comes with it.

In reality i doubt it would be effective though... i've taken and passed several required exams to work with things or in sectors (from radiological safety to running a bar) and found the mandatory exams to be extremely simple.

Well the safety class would help to better understand the risks and immature kids who want a laser just for pointing at airplanes :crackup: would not go through all that trouble. And if someone were to hurt themselves with the laser the privileges could be provoked and they would be limited to a <5mw.

 

[TheTeslaWarrior]

Sure anyone that wants a laser could build one themselves and would understand the risk's but don't you think it would be much more convenient if you could go to a laser shop and buy some laser parts and be able to see them before you buy them and not have to wait for 3week + shipping ?

How does tighter restrictions equate to increased availability of lasers?

This hobby is no where near large enough for laser shops.

 

[brendon7358]

How does tighter restrictions equate to increased availability of lasers?

This hobby is no where near large enough for laser shops.

Well the restrictions would equate to less laser accidents and therefore less of a chance of lasers being banned as they are in Australia. And maybe not a shop dedicated to lasers but a small kiosk at the mall and/or laser parts available at radio shack or Hobby stores.