Listen, the comments in my earlier post were just designed to bring a little humor and reality to the situation. A thousand or so signatures from amateur astronomers on a petition isn't going to go very far in oposition to the Federal aviation authorities and all the rest of the complainers now is it?
Personally I think we can do without them, but having said that, they can't be seen unless your close to the line of sight so as long as you don't use it around a bunch of poltically correct squeelers it wont be a problem even if they are banned.
Banning hooter never stopped its use now did it
As for those who use them at observatories and other public events, well they will have to just go back to whatever they were doing 2 years ago before the fad started. I'm sure the world wont collapse just because some Jap tourist can't find the southern cross.