Laser pointer possibly to become offensive weapons to own in the UK

[mixedgas]

Buffo recycled perfectly good innocent electrons to push out innocent photons which formed:

More to the point, it really bothers me to see the members of a free country contemplating trying to ban a legal product just because we don't like it... Because there is a *huge* risk that a new law against Wicked would also have far-reaching ramifications for the rest of the industry, including us. (This was discussed in depth on the ILDA cruise, and indeed there is a pending bill before the US Senate that has already passed the House that could have a chilling effect on outdoor shows. Google HR 5810)

end quote.

Hum, HR 5810 ?? You sure????

H.R.5810: Mentor-Mentee Teen Pregnancy Reduction Act of 2008 ...

Try HR5820

Steve

[buffo]

No Steve, it's HR 5810. You have to remember that this is the 111th congress.

The bill you linked to is from the 110th congress. (Note the date of 2008)

Here are a couple links:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-5810

http://rescommunis.wordpress.com/201...s-act-of-2010/

http://www.laserpointersafety.com/ru...10/hr5810.html

That last one gives you a pretty good rundown of the problems with the bill.

Adam

[Eidetic]

Thanks for the information Buffo, and for setting me straight. Regardless, Wicked Lasers ignored me for three months, intentionally gave out misleading information, and sent me a product I didn't order. I'm not going to contact them or do any other business with them, and take every opportunity I can to recommend against them (especially by grossly inflating the price to those who ask). That's just how I react to a company that treats customers that way.

[buffo]

Fair enough, Eidetic. I'd be pissed off if a company screwed me over like that too. But at some point I think we, as a community, need to acknowledge that they are trying to improve things. Because for sure the other Chinese hand-held suppliers aren't doing anything.

Out of curiosity, did they ever make good on the deal, or are you still out of luck with them?

Adam

[Eidetic]

No, they sent me a G-2 instead of the G-1 I specifically ordered, after they specifically asked which one to send me (like two months ago). I'm not spending any time or money to send it back to them, or even try to contact them about it. They don't respond to customer service requests. They will probably just shine me on again because the owner is a unethical.

I don't understand how they are allowed to get away with this. The product is a pointer regardless of what any business, marketing or advertising hack calls it. It's an enormously unsafe pointer, made much less safe by the idiotic "smart switch" they added to skirt the law. I don't like cheaters like them who skirt the law. Put the device in front of 10 reasonable laser users or engineers and all of them will identify it as a pointer.

[buffo]

I don't understand how they are allowed to get away with this. The product is a pointer regardless of what any business, marketing or advertising hack calls it. It's an enormously unsafe pointer, made much less safe by the idiotic "smart switch" they added to skirt the law. I don't like cheaters like them who skirt the law. Put the device in front of 10 reasonable laser users or engineers and all of them will identify it as a pointer.

I agree that it's a pointer, at least in form factor. The problem is that US law doesn't discriminate based on form factor. I've spoken with Patrick Murphy about this on several occasions, and the best stab we could come up with as to where to draw the line between a true "pointer" and merely a battery-powered lab module was something like "Any visible laser that is less than 15 inches long, less than 2 inches in diameter, completely self-contained, and battery powered, shall be classified as a pointer." But good luck getting language like that added to 21 CFR 1040 anytime soon.

Adam