[JLStorm]

How come because I choose to carry a light or laser sight occassionally on one of my CCW weapons or have holsters made for my gun and light configuration so I can carry them properly, I am called a mall ninja by certain people...but when the police use lights and lasers on traffic stops or domestic disputes with 4 other officers, its just part of the job??

I certainly think cops should use them if they would like, but when they have one suspect and 4 officers and feel the need for a laser sight, why is it so awful if I use the same tools seeing as I could possibly face more than one attacker and have no backup??

[Devonai]

Why should you care what "certain people" think?

I believe one of the so-called Murphy's Laws of Combat was "If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid."

I have no use for a visible laser, but if it helps you shoot better under certain circumstances, why not?

It's better have it and et cetera...

[Starter52]

+1 to what Devonai said.

Laser sights are new technology, and some baby boomers consider them toys. "We never needed them in my day", etc.

I'm confident that the future will show that you are right and they are wrong.

Also: it doesn't help what Hollywood has done with laser sights.

[Omnivore]

I can't speak for the person who coined the term, but a laser is more practical indoors than out, which means they'd work better in a mall than in the woods on a bright sunny day: Indoors, you can't loose the dot because its always falling on a nearby object, wall etc.. Outside, you can loose the dot for at least two very common reasons: It can be very light out, so the dot doesn't look very bright, and you can be inadvertently pointing the laser into the wild blue yonder such that it falls on something far away, i.e. it is gone. Then you have to wave your muzzle around in order to pick up the laser again.

Cops may use lasers, which is fine, and they do have their uses, but don't make the mistake of thinking that if a cop does something it should be considered wise or smart for that reason alone-- cops are just people.

For more detail, see my article on electronic sights, which has a section dedicated to laser sights:
http://www.ultimak.com/UnderstandingE-sights.htm

Funny: I recently heard a news reporter refer to a laser sighted weapon as firing "laser-guided bullets". Heh. They have no idea how they appear to people who know better.