But officials say the availability of the devices in an oceanfront air corridor used by military craft, banner planes, and commercial airliners has led to dangerous situations in which lasers have been pointed at cockpits, causing aborted missions and potential pilot blindness.
Prompted by a recent incident involving a Coast Guard helicopter, Ocean City is considering a ban on the pointers, said City Council President Michael Allegretto, terming it a public-safety issue.
The ordinance would outlaw the sale and possession of laser pointers that exceed 1 milliwatt of output. They're mostly green lasers, not the less-powerful red and yellow varieties.
First-time violators would be fined $500. Subsequent violations would result in $1,000 fines, up to 30 days in jail, or both.
The measure, which has the unanimous support of the City Council, is scheduled for its second and final reading July 14.
Officials took the "commonsense" step, Councilman Scott Ping said, after merchants failed to comply with requests this month and last summer to stop selling the pointers, which range from $5.95 for key-chain models that shine a few feet to $40 versions that send intense beams up to three miles.
Some in the industry feel laws such as the one Ocean City is considering are excessive.
"Making all lasers illegal is definitely overreaching," said Colette DeHarpporte, owner of OnPoint Lasers of Minneapolis, one of the nation's largest importers and distributors of the devices.
The pointers have appropriate applications, DeHarpporte said, adding that most of the high-powered green lasers in the country are from China.
"Customs should be cracking down on what comes into the country and how it's being distributed. . . . It's very easy for people to get their hands on lasers that exceed the legal limits," she said.
