Re: Wicked Lasers 445nm 1W(!) portable deathray
Can you kindly send me a link to where I could right now purchase a live grenade without a special permit?
That was my point, the weapons you mentioned aren't illegal in most US states, they're just usually subject to an additional tax stamp. Switchblades aren't in my state. I can legally own a switchblade without any special tax or permit as long as I avoid the ridiculous interstate commerce restrictions. That makes sense because there's nothing about a switchblade that makes it any more dangerous than any other knife and they are ponderously slow compared to any fixed blade knife and a few folding knife designs.
An arc welder cannot blind someone from 200m away.
Sure, and the laser can't burn through steel like a hot knife through butter. We may as well be scared of 5 gallon buckets. Do you have any idea how many children drown in buckets each year? 200m? Ha! Buckets are
everywhere and anyone can buy them, even in huge quantities, with no government oversight at all. No permits required for filling them with water either.
Can you state the danger of this "wild hype"? Where is the danger? What right do you risk loosing? Again, I'll restate my belief that no one has a legitimate use for a laser of this power without also being able to apply for a special needs permit.
These hyped up articles are playing to fears of this product being misused. If they would have left it alone it would have been a much smaller group of mostly enthusiasts who were even aware the product exists. Now they're giving it free global advertising and emphasizing its potential to be misused. That is just an example of poor judgment on the journalists' part if they were really concerned about the public safety angle but what's worse is the hype is wildly inaccurate and they attribute things to the laser that it just can't do. Of coursing getting the facts all wrong is nothing new and it's bad enough that at this point you can't honestly consider the mainstream media to be a credible source of information.
The other thing you said, about what right we risk losing, well that shows me you have a misunderstanding of how freedom works in the US. Our heritage of freedom flows from, among other things, our Constitution that acts as a white list on government powers. By default its our birthright as Americans to do what we please as long as it doesn't harm others unless for some exceptional reason legal restrictions have been put in place through specific due process. Yes, we do have a right to own powerful lasers and it would fall under not only this general principle but also the Tenth Amendment which reads,
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The federal government hasn't been given any legitimate special powers to control access to lasers and wisely so. An argument could be made that a given state or community could examine the issue and choose to restrict access to lasers. A total ban would go right out the window as soon as we're talking about a weapons grade laser which would be protected under the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The military and law enforcement community have shown interest in lasers as weapons which according to supreme court case law strengthens the claim of lasers as protected arms and if this particular laser is actually as capable of blinding as the hype suggests than it would seem that it could indeed fall into the category of arms. Not exactly my top pick in personal armament but the more powerful and portable the laser gets the more likely possession is a protected right under our highest law.
It is your right under the First Amendment to loudly and publicly object to the availability of these lasers. While I disagree with your position I do believe it is important for you to exercise your right if for no other reason than all angles on any subject should be considered if we're going to have our society operate on any principle resembling reason. It's even your right to pursue a change in the law to prohibit the laser but it will have to be done in good faith through due process to be legitimate as the United States of America is a Republic and therefore our law is not subject to mob rule. That's also a good thing as it protects the little guys from the whims of the big guys.
Personally I don't think things should have come to the point we need to discuss stuff like this. The laser is neat but not for everybody, just like my lathe which could easily take your arm off if you made just one mistake. Or a five gallon bucket. The debate itself was inevitable though. Firearms, which have been well established as a legally protected class of weapon here in the US, are at heart an ancient technology dating back about 7 centuries. Some would and could argue much older. It was inevitable that just as guns eventually replaced the bow and arrow that directed energy weapons or other exotic technologies would eventually replace the firearm. That replacement is a good thing because eventually it will give rise to the proverbial phaser set on stun which I believe most of us would prefer to use for self defense once they are available, affordable and reliable. I don't know that this product will spur the debate on energy weapons in any significant way but it is a harbinger of things to come.
