Sending A Rather Harsh Message

This guy might get 25 years in prison for pointing a laser pointer at an airplane: My Way News

According to the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, "interfering with the operator of a mass transit vehicle" is a federal offense. Hmmm. The guy says he was using a $100 green laser pointer to point out stars to his daughter. He also admitted to shining it on a helicopter and an airplane. The "mass transit vehicle" in question was a corporate jet, a Cessna Citation carrying six people.

I wonder how the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act defines "mass transit vehicle"? It seems that private jets wouldn't qualify, since they normally carry less than 20 passengers.

But in any case, does this man deserve to be raped in jail for 25 years for this "crime"? Does his daughter deserve to grow up only seeing her father during jailhouse visits because they aimed a laser pointer into the nighttime sky? Have we totally lost our moral compass?

More later...
Paul