I Smell Something Burning

[billroper]

Via Instapundit, the folks at WickedLasers have announced a portable one watt blue laser that is powerful enough to set exposed flesh on fire. It can permanently blind you too, I'm guessing without a lot of trouble.

As someone who believes in the Second Amendment, I look at this and find myself wishing that it required a license. A big, hard to get license.

Comments

[gundo.livejournal.com]

I guess one shouldn't bare arms around that laser...

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I agree. A waiver promising to be responsible gets the manufacturer off the hook for the disasters waiting to happen, but isn't the same as a license, requiring training and oversight of some kind before use or purchase.

[archiver-tim.livejournal.com]

Can it be used to trim the bushes? Wish I had a lightsabre for that task.

[billroper]

I suspect that it can if you don't mind burning bushes and you have no great love for your neighbors...

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

When I read articles like this - "Bowhunting boys held for flashing laser at pilots" - I cannot help but at least partially agree.

It is too bad that people don't actually take the responsibility that being an adult requires.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Considering how our University safety inspector (no, I did not say "safety nazi") wrote us up for not having Standard Operating procedures written up for our lab's (less-powerful) red and green lasers . . .

. . . these things should be even harder to get than a driver's license.

[gingicat]

Whoa.

[kizoku42.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't mind an age limit on the thing.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

I can't think of any good reason that it should be any harder to license than a firearm. I'd rather get hit with that than with a bullet.

It's cool that they're getting true blue lasers down in price. The cheap ones up to now have been violet.

Also, I was under the impression that you do need a license for anything > 5 mw. I know that I could get up to 200mw lasers for cheap from China, but they won't ship them to the US anymore because customs won't let them in.