WARNING: Italy has decided to ban Lasers

[Asherz]

Ah man that really sucks, sorry to hear about the news!

 

[Eudaimonium]

I agree that banning DIY kits and parts is stupid, anybody who has the skill to assemble it and make it work, also has the knowledge how to use it.

Let's hope they are aware of that.

 

[RA_pierce]

Stock up while you can.
USA and UK are sure to follow.

 

[laserlands]

never ship anything to Italy. We suffered a great loss for mails lost. take my advice if anybody want to do business with italian people. it is not prejudice, it is experience.

 

[ixfd64]

Hmm, I somehow doubt the veracity of the newscast.

I just did a search on Google News and could find no mention of any laser ban in Italy. Unless the Italian government has the power to enact bans on the fly, I'd imagine that it would have taken at least a few weeks for such a ban to pass through the Italian legislature. If Italy did ban lasers, I would have expected at least some news coverage.

 

[sonaro]

great, another reason to keep laser prices high due to limited supply.

 

[Devil_Master]

Hmm, I somehow doubt the veracity of the newscast.

I just did a search on Google News and could find no mention of any laser ban in Italy. Unless the Italian government has the power to enact bans on the fly, I'd imagine that it would have taken at least a few weeks for such a ban to pass through the Italian legislature. If Italy did ban lasers, I would have expected at least some news coverage.

And I just did the same on ANSA (the main Italian press agency). As you say, it does not mention any ban. It just says that the people responsible for shining laser beams at planes have been reported to the police.

 

[jander6442]

I have been in the hoarding mode since Dx stopped their definate export of over 5mW to US.

I had a feeling that things were going to go this way. Sucks, maybe they can regulate ownership kinda like gun laws?

 

[Benm]

I think its a strange story - nowadays such bans are usually european-union wide, although countries are obviously free to make additional rules. Owning items is rarely a crime in eu countries, apart from weapons and narcotics.

Italy could ban the import and try to seize the lasers at customs, but i suppose anything marked <5 mW will still pass through even if its actually much more powerful. Customs are rarely able test.

 

[photonaholic]

Doubt it. I heard they banned katanas in England, but those who already possessed them were allowed to keep them. Imaging withdrawing all laser pointers from the population of the entire country.

I doubt soldiers will kick in everyone's door searching homes for lasers.

They will take them one at a time as they see them, meaning that if you turn one on in public, expect to lose it and get arrested.

The sad part about such legislation is even someone being perfectly safe in an empty field on a foggy night will prompt some ass to make that phone call, and the innocent suffer right along with the douches.

 

[Arayan]

This is a very sad day :cryyy::cryyy: ... how did you hear these news?

 

[ossumguywill]

How about they just send laser idiots to prison for 10 years, that way the responsible people get to keep theirs and they send a message! IMO government needs to be a LOT smaller. also IMO, these "moms against <insert negative connotation here>" that try to get anything that could be dangerous banned are taken WAYYYY to seriously...

will

 

[andreaplanet]

In Italy we typically have very strong laws that a lot of times are not respected. It's the double face of Italy. Laser Pointers of Class 3 (CEI EN 60825) are forbidden to import/sell since 1998, until now probably nobody took much care about it. But anything that gets a media attention will be fight immediately. I can only imagine what could happen if a idiot would point a small greenie in the direction of the prime minister. Days of anti-laser-battle just to fill up the newspaper with distracting stuff instead of real country problems. With new laws requiring license to own lasers like with firearms.

The Italian Customs already checks a lot of incoming goods, adding taxes here and there even on small gifts. I recently had to pay $20 taxes ($12 handling fee + 20% taxes) for a CD that I received from a friend through Amazon and signed as a Gift (it was a gift). So from now on it could be a problem for italians here....

Actual law (in Italian): Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 167 del 20/07/98

Andrea

 

[Trevor]

Italy could ban the import and try to seize the lasers at customs, but i suppose anything marked <5 mW will still pass through even if its actually much more powerful. Customs are rarely able test.

True; it is a shame that it came to this though. :cryyy:

-Trevor

 

[HIMNL9]

Well, said from an Italian unlucky one ..... here in Italy is already banned, except that for specific uses, any pointer of class 3 and over (that means, you can buy or commercialize only class 1, 2 and 2b devices, like 1 or 2 mW) ..... this was introduced in 16/07/1998 with an "ordinance" (that here, is simply an easy way for introduce a law when you don't have the authority for write laws ), from the general director of prevention department ..... so, theorically, from 07/1998 they are already banned .....

The only difference is that, actually, the present politicians need some more visibility and, overall, "credibility" (sorry for the word, i know that "credibility" must not be used about politicians ) on medias, so they just started another "look how we're good in crime prevention" campaign, with some new excuses ..... and, ofcourse, instead to fight real crime (cause, after all, real criminals tend to payback with fire, when fighted ), they beat the usual 0,1% of idiots, and in the mass, also the 99,9% of innocents (cause, after all, innocents, when fighted, usually don't payback with fire ..... or, at least, the probability is more low ).

Nothing new under the sun, just the old good istitutional idiocy, pumped up through the old good media idiocy ..... as usual (as i already said, welcome in the land of freedom, where you're totally free to do all that what they say you to do)


BTW ..... one of these days, we lost all the remaining patience, i guess ..... :eg:

 

[aryntha]

I really do feel that this will happen pretty much universally in due time.

While taking a walk on a foggy night with some friends, doing some sky pointing in the mountains with a handheld green a few years ago, - some lady shouted from her house, "YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT! I'M CALLING THE POLICE! YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT THING!" ...

She was wrong, of course. This was a <5mW green - beam was certainly visible in the fog (Note i've never been screamed at for my 900lm Cree MC-E light - which arguably could be just as dazzling if mispointed).

We're in a very unpopulated area where I am - hundreds of acres of Arapahoe National Forest, very easy to find a field at night for safe beamshots. I've been doing it less and less though for these reasons.

It's come to the point where I want to get a 500mW PGL before I have to call it a day. Why do I have so many lasers? Because I really do feel that it's either 'get them now, or wish you had gotten them then.'