However there are always conspiracy nuts that wont listen to reason. I have been warned that there is a rumour going around the island about my laser. (I wont repeat it, but it is absolutely rediculous). We are working with Gemini to install an all sky camera to look for airplanes so we dont hit them with the laser beam (If we hit a plane its about as dangerous as hitting it with a laser pointer, but it could distract the pilot if we hit the cockpit) - anyway at a community meeting one lunatic implied that the camera would be used to spy on citizens... I have also been warned that I should avoid terms like 'firing' the laser, I should use the term 'propagating' instead. My response was "Ok in the future I will be sure to say 'we are propagating the yellow beam of death'" they were not amused lol...

As for your question, the diffraction rings are not due to the laser guide star, they are a byproduct of the high resolution. If you look carefully you can notice the 'rings' are hexagonal, this is because the primary mirror on Keck is hexagonal. In the best previous picture of the galactic center you dont see the rings, it was too low a resolution.