The 11-year-old boy who suffered permanent eye damage when he shone a powerful laser pointer in a mirror and was hit by the reflection has cause to feel aggrieved.
As far back as mid-2008, the previous Government was considering banning these devices.
There was no doubt that the way people were aiming them at aircraft, potentially blinding their pilots, provided reason enough to deem them a prohibited weapon.
Yet nothing happened, with Labour's Transport Safety Minister, Harry Duynhoven, referring to such attacks as mainly the work of one or two people of low-level intelligence.
The minister was obviously right about the intellect of those who use the pointers in this manner, given the possibility of a catastrophe. But his inability to see how easily the practice could be mimicked resulted in a regrettable lack of urgency.
