Man Who Pointed Laser At Aircraft Gets 30-Month Sentence

coondoggie writes "In a move federal prosecutors hope sends a strong message to the knuckleheads who point lasers at aircraft for fun, a California man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for shining one at two aircraft. According to the FBI Adam Gardenhire, 19, was arrested on March 29, 2012 and named in a two-count indictment filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles that said he pointed the beam of a laser at a private plane and a police helicopter that responded to the report."

Comments

Good.

[ZorinLynx]

It's because of idiots like this that we can't have nice toys. Laser pointers get banned and people who buy them get looked on with suspicion. All because some morons think pointing them at aircraft is a good idea.

How about we punish the idiots, and let the rest of us have our toys?

Re:Good.

[lgw]

Because the term "idiots" could be applyed for you too...

The 19yo "idiot" who beamed the laser directly on a place is perhaps a total idiot, but could be a total super math freak and perhaps he works in a lab near you...
I'm a programmer, so I'm not an "idiot" when facing computer... but... I can easily be considered an idiot while doing something else...

you know, it's kinda relative, since we're all idiots in somes areas.

No, if you're "an idiot" anywhere, you're an idiot. Good judgment and personal responsibility has little to do with education or subject matter.

All of us have a duty to think about the consequences of our actions, and to help remediate the negative outcomes of anything we do. Good intentions count for nothing; making a real effort to limit the harm our action cause to others is what makes an adult.

Re:Good.

[fyngyrz]

The problem is not the toddlers, or the magnets. The problem is the parents.

Re:Good.

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that the magnets are small and easily missed by parents, especially if they've fallen on the floor at a friend's house.

The fact is that at some point, you do have to recognize societal responsibilities, these aren't always obvious without benefit of hindsight.

Re:Good.

[interkin3tic]

I don't want them to be banned by law, but people... DON'T USE GREEN LASER POINTERS FOR PRESENTATIONS.

I've had to sit through a number of powerpoint presentations in darkened rooms where a green laser pointer was too bright. If red is too dim, it's the batteries.

Occasionally I've been in presentations where someone was using a dry erase whiteboard as a screen. Never do that with a laser pointer. If they had tried to do it with a green laser, I would have walked out. That shit is reflective.

Last gripe: people, you really shouldn't need to use a laser pointer on every single slide. Scientists are horrible at this. "If I am not making little circles around random places on the screen at all times, they'll think I'm not a real scientist!" Text should speak for itself, if you're pointing at text, you probably have too much to be of any use, or are nervously pointing unnecessarily. If you have images and you want to direct someone's attention at a small part, you could put arrows on it pretty easily, but that's the one time you need a laser pointer, that's typically only one or two times a slideshow from my experience.

/gripe

Re:Good.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't see anything in your post that absolves the parents from their responsibilities to watch their children. Especially if your children are at the age where they instinctively put things in their mouths, you need to watch them at all times. If your friend has loaded guns lying around his house, is it the gun's fault for going off when the child picks it up?

-- green led

Re:Good.

[goodmanj]

We punish a crime based on the foreseeable consequences of the crime, not on the simplicity of the act. This guy really could have crashed an airliner, killing hundreds. Pointing a laser at a plane is easy, but so is pulling a trigger.

Re:From the article:

[iggymanz]

"let's give pilots kevlar body suits in a suitcase, if someone sprays the cockpit with bullets they can open the suitcase and put the suits on"

Re:From the article:

[fuzzybunny]

How about we put the onus for not being an asshole on the people who could cause the damage in the first place, not on those who might (in addition to their passengers) become victims of it?

Lasers can cause eye damage or blind a pilot pretty immediately, without time to put on goggles.

This is a good verdict. Society works if people are not assholes to each other; when they start being assholes, you need laws and enforcement to motivate them not to be.

Sounds reasonable

[Anonymous Coward]

I am perfectly okay with this.

Re:All those old laser devices

[fuzzybunny]

Hardware hackers can also pop down to the nearest gun shop, pick up a .30-06 hunting rifle, and start potting away at airplanes, injuring or killing the pilot, hitting a fuel line, or otherwise causing it to fall down go boom.

People generally don't because it's understood that (a) doing so is malicious and destructive, and (b) there are laws prohibiting it with very severe punishment as consequences.

There are a lot of things in this world that are potentially dangerous weapons, including high-powered lasers. Banning them isn't the answer, but making it very clear that they're dangerous and that you're not to treat them like toys definitely is.

misuse of sentencing

[X0563511]

Sentencing should be for punishment/rehabilitation and not to "send messages."

That kind of shit needs to go away. That's why we have "hackers" getting put away longer than rapists, or issues like Aaron Schwartz.

Punishment fetish wins again

[TheCarp]

Ok this guy did something monumentally stupid which, most certainly should serve as example for others. Done. Now whats with the 30 months in prison? Why must this guy be a felon? Now unable to leave the country, unable to vote in most places, unable to own a firearm.... all for something stupid that, he is unlikely to ever do again.

The punishment fetish in this country really needs to be checked, punishments are totally out of whack with crimes when we have people losing their rights indefinitely over something which, while it could have been disasterous wasn't, and more would have been served (and just as useful an example set) by using it as a teaching moment than by ruining this guys life and making crime one of his best options going forward.

But hey, the harsh punishment crowd can go stroke themselves over it, so someone benefits.

Re:From the article:

[rfolkker]

Thank you, with how many people seem to think that it is the responsibility of the victim to make sure that they are properly protected against idiots, it is nice to hear some sanity.

I personally think 30 months is too short. And the man should have been charged with attempted murder once for every person in each aircraft.

People need to become more conscious of their actions. If you know something "fun" that can kill people, you should still be charged with attempted murder, even if you were too stupid to realize your actions could have resulted in death.

But, you do end up in a grey area of what is a stupid attempt, and what is an honest mistake. However, in this case, it was obviously not a mistake, it was just stupid "fun".

As for his statement that he didn't know it was dangerous only leads to the fact that people are continuously using things without understanding what it is that they use. All laser pointers come with warnings. Even if his friend removed the label before letting his friend use it, the friend should also be responsible for notifying his friend of the dangers.

There is also the fact that this kid was not aware of the fact that it was illegal.

Now I know I am getting old, but the repeated use of the "I didn't know" defense sickens me every time I hear it in the news. What level of stupidity is required for people to do something they have no idea what they are doing?

I have been slowly getting my niece into astronomy, and now I have to deal with keeping up with these idiots causing new laws getting created, so I then have to research them, so that I can continue to teach her how to look at the stars responsibly, and while, it is obvious to keep pointers out of flight paths, now, before going to a new place I need to make sure I am more than 10 miles away from any registered airport.

Re:From the article:

[michelcolman]

And what exactly is the "practical solution" for keeping laser light out of windows which are designed to give pilots the best possible view outside? Any new materials I don't know of that keep laser light out but let other light through so pilots can still see the ground at night?

I don't think it's "overbearing" to make it illegal to shine lasers at aircraft.

I do think the punishment is a bit harsh for a 19 year old first offender who probably had no idea that what he was doing was so dangerous.

Re:Sentence is too long

[Tynin]

At no point should the justice system try to make an example out of anyone. Law should always be dealt evenly. The severity of punishment does nothing for deterrence, the only thing that helps serve as a warning is consistent enforcement of the law. To punish one person more than others so others take notice, has never worked, and is more of a sign of seeking vengeance than rehabilitation. Additionally, those who would do bad things likely aren't studied in criminal law and past case history to know if anyone has been made an example of whatever stupid thing they are about to do, so no warning to others is ever realistically possible. Gone are the days when a small community would get together to exact a punishment on an offender, and only in those small communities could setting an example work.

I just believe we should try to bring the young back into society where they can be constructive, at least give them the chance, before sending them on to learn to be a real criminal.

Re:From the article:

[wonkey_monkey]

The law is stupid because the idea that laws serve as an effective deterrent is stupid.

No it isn't.

Remember when they passed that law against __________, and now no one does __________ anymore?

smoking in indoor public places
driving without a seatbelt
leaving dog poop on the pavement
corporal punishment in schools
child labour

If "laser strikes" are now a potential safety hazard, and the government wants to "do something" about them, they should start requiring pilots to wear appropriate safety gear to protect themselves against laser strikes.

So, your answer to the problem of, say, graffiti would be to coat every wall with teflon, instead of punishing those responsible? How about mandatory burkas instead of those silly anti-rape laws?