"Dude, I'm just screwing around!" ... City restricts laser pointers

[Bluebear]

"To me, this is not a law designed to get people in trouble. It is designed to keep people alive," Clark said. "If I have to infringe on the right of a 14-year-old to be an idiot, then so be it."



The man with the laser pointer probably never realized just how close he came to getting shot. On a night almost 10 years ago, off-duty Henderson police officer Craig Seibert and his wife were sitting on their couch watching a movie when they were startled by what sounded like an explosion or a gunshot. When Seibert went outside to investigate, he heard another bang and saw people screaming and running around in the street. He ran inside, told his wife to call 911 and headed back out with his gun and his radio.

As he approached the commotion, he saw a man lying flat on the roof of a shed and pointing something at a group of Seibert's neighbors. Then he noticed the telltale red dot of a laser moving across his neighbors' heads and chests -- just as it might if it was the laser sight on a firearm.

"I pointed my gun at him and told him to show me his hands. He said, 'Dude, I'm just screwing around,' " said Seibert, now a sergeant in charge of the department's training division. "If he would have pointed that laser at me, I think I would have shot him. I don't think I would have had any choice but to shoot him, no ifs, ands or buts about it."

Based on that incident and a handful of others involving police officers, the Henderson City Council voted Tuesday to restrict who is allowed to own a laser pointer and what they can do with it. It is now illegal in Henderson to shine a laser in someone's eyes or aim one at an emergency responder or his vehicle. If you're under the age of 18, you are no longer allowed to carry a laser pointer outside of your home, and selling a laser pointer to a minor is now a misdemeanor offense....


http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-20-Sun-2005/news/4387943.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. How stupid

Charge the people who abuse lasers! Why punish EVERYONE?

These kind of laws are so unnecessary.

[mike_c]

2. from my cold dead hands....

I own four. I carry them concealed in my brief case, and I know how to use them.

[Blue_Tires]

3. they have been banned in Va Beach since '98

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. And... it would have been a justified shooting

if people cannot understand this, then I guess the city council will have to protect people from their idiocy... sorry folks

[Skittles]

5. I drive my cat crazy with one

so freaking effortless too :D

[Moochy]

6. The cats man! who will think of the cats?

My cats love my laser level, will those be illegal too?

[Skittles]

7. well, maybe YOUR cats are snitches

but mine isn't :D