Not to be Mr Glass Half-Empty, but there’s a general truism that goes into discussions/debates like these.
People are idiots.
Take some time, let it sink in, then reread it again.
You take a decent light, not even a GT or anything, and some idiot will take it out and start shining it at oncoming drivers right before a curve, to watch the now-blinded driver almost crash, maybe just to get some yuks, maybe to video it for yootoob, who knows. Or slam it into “SOS” mode and go shining it over the water, or from a hillside, etc.
Lasers and airplanes. Flashlights and cars. You know it’ll happen when some inbred moron thinks it’d be oh-so-funny to take his new shiny flashlight out for a test-drive and do something retarded like that.
And bigger-idiot politicians are nourished by such incidents. It gives them purpose in life, to find a new scourge and propose Legislation™ to “deal with the problem”. And B’harni (pbuh!) help the rest of us…
And the fawning “news” media will fall into line right quick, interviewing the widow of the guy who wrecked after being blinded by an assault-flashlight, showing tables lined with lights with “attack bezels” and “tactical” this and “tactical” that. No foybezels here, only medieval-looking pointy attack bezels!
But hey, we should all be for “reasonable” flashlight laws. Maybe waiting-periods for flashlights. Battery-tube limits of only 3500mAH maximum. Background checks to make sure no mental-defectives could get their hands on flashlights. Limits on maximum OTF lumens (after all, no one needs a flashlight with 4000+ child-killing lumens, right?). Flashlight registration and licenses. You name it.
You think I’m being facetious? Just wait ’til some 85 goes and does something stoopit with a Q8 or GT or…
I’m cringing right now just thinking about it.