Recent Attacks Lead to Ban of Laser Pointers

If Governments want to ban anything and everything that could be used as a weapon, distraction, annoyance, danger, threat, ect... we might as well give up everything and live in a small box so as not to have any opportunity to be perceived as a threat.

we'll learn the box is a threat, what will we ever do then?

Just make sure that there aren't any sharp corners on that box - somebody might get hurt and then you'd be sued...

as soon as the ban came into effect, what did i do? rush out and buy a laser pointer. Not that I ever use the damn thing, I just wanted one...

I don't see whats wrong with the ban. Obviously the population isn't mature enough to handle a light. If I was piloting an aircraft and some asshat shines a laser at me, I'd be pissed off. It is a safety hazard, a major annoyance, and people can get hurt.

bala you are obviously either a gun nut or a laser freak. Either way, you're being forced to get a permit in order to own one. What's so difficult about that?

Actually I'm more of a freedom nut that doesn't like rights / privileges taken away because a few people are abusing them... The government thinks everything can be fixed with a law. That is not always the case. I do hope you throughly enjoy your box.

Uses the box to its full potential in lethality...

it turns out that in other news, Australia has now decided to ban mirrors ... due to their reflective nature, they are FAAAR too dangerous.

one victim ... Ima Looser, was quoted " ... it was horrid ... i was walking along, minding my own business and when i took a peak in my neighbors bathroom window was nearly blinded by the reflection of the light off her mirror ... "

Guess what? Every freedom comes hand-in-hand with responsibility. That's our word of the day, children: Responsibility.

If people can't use their freedoms responsibly, those freedoms will be curbed to benefit public safety. The public has the right to protect itself against people who abuse their freedoms, does it not?

Not by removing the very freedoms they fight for. You may enjoy the box as well.

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
-Benjamin Franklin

What would have been the best course of action to protect citizens from lasers? Especially the green ones that can burn your eyes. I don't now if you can treat a laser as a simple rock or stick you just happened to pick up and start throwing/beating someone with it. Lasers seem to be in a higher catagory of physical threat relative to operations that require good vision.

I'm not asking all my rights be taken away, but ya what are you suppose to do to keep a leash on laser lashers?

Protect citizens or protect pilots? From what I recall the more dangerous Green lasers are quite expensive $100.00+ in comparison to the Red ones $5-10.00. For the pilots I'm sure there is a way to put a filter over their windows to block out the green laser. For the citizens maybe they could design the green laser pointers (which are already expensive) with a built in range finder so if you use it for star gazing then it won't turn on if something is detected within xx feet. There are a lot of smart people out there than can come up with solutions to problems without making a law that suddenly makes law abiding hobbyist criminals.