NSW laser pointers ban?

Question

When will the laser pointers bill be active and will 1-5mW laser pointers be banned?

Answer 1

I can't tell you about NSW, but 5 mw laser pointers are not dangerous enough to ban or restrict them.  It's mostly a knee-jerk reaction over false fears.  I can look directly into a 5mw laser with harm.  It's like looking into any other bright light.  It will diminish my sight for short-term, and maybe cause damage if done repetitively long enough, but who's going to just stand there while you hold a laser into their eye for hours at a time?

More powerful lasers can, and perhaps should, be regulated.  Even 50mw lasers can be used for criminal mischief, although there really should be more incidents to justify regulation than simply the concept.  100mw lasers, such as used in light shows, are already regulated in the U.S. as the potential for accidental injury is extremely likely.  But those also require water-cooled power sources.

Answer 2

d**n!, My friends all own lazer pointer except me,

LOL! the GOVT does some crazy things,

I at live in NZ tho, hope they don't bring that law here

Answer 3

According to the Parliament of NSW site, the bill has not reached Second Reading with the Legislative Council, so the commencement date of the proposed Act hasn't been decided.

I grabbed this from the Summary Offences and Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Laser Pointers) Bill 2008: "an offence (maximum penalty $5,500 or imprisonment for 2 years, or both) for a person, without reasonable excuse, to have in his or her custody a laser pointer in a public place or use a laser pointer in a public place. It is a reasonable

excuse for a person to have custody of, or use, a laser pointer if the custody or use is reasonably necessary in all the circumstances for the lawful pursuit of the person’s occupation, education, training or hobby. It is also a reasonable excuse for a person to have custody of a laser pointer during travel to or from or incidental to that occupation, education, training or hobby."

The type of laser pointer doesn't seem to be stipulated. It looks like it means all laser pointers. But the exclusions (reasonable excuses) seem to say that people with legitimate uses aren't the targets...