Following Incidents with Aircrafts, NJ Senator to Redouble Efforts to Outlaw Sale of High-Powered Laser Pointers

laserIn response to reports that lasers were pointed at nearly a dozen commercial aircraft last night that were flying over New Jersey, Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic) said he will redouble his efforts to outlaw the sale of these products in the state. Senator Van Drew is the sponsor of legislation (S2258) to prohibit the sale of laser pointers that exceed one milliwatt in output power; last session, an identical bill was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by the governor:

“We’ve seen too many cases in which high-powered lasers have been pointed at aircraft, which can cause pilots to experience temporary blindness while in flight. This puts the pilots, passengers and the general public in grave danger. This is not something that should be taken lightly.

“High-powered lasers that can go thousands of feet in the air should be outlawed and should not be available to the public. I have a bill that would prohibit the sale of these devices and create monetary penalties for those who violate the ban. In light of these recent events, we are going to redouble our efforts to get this bill passed and signed into law. We really do want to avoid a terrible tragedy from occurring and getting these devices off the shelves will help to reduce the supply and phase them out across the state.”

[TLS]

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Yup. Another instance where big government will block a useful device because bad people will use it for bad.When will they stop telling us what to do? It’s not the laser that’s dangerous, it’s the people handling it.

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