01 Dec Switzerland Gun Laws Debunked
The tradition of the “gun in every closet” was called into question in 2001 after a disgruntled citizen opened fire with his army rifle in a regional parliament, killing 14 people and wounding 14 others. The ensuing resistance to widespread gun ownership led to pressure for stricter gun laws. However, the government and pro-gun groups have argued that the country`s existing laws governing the sale, possession and licensing of private weapons, including the ban on carrying hidden weapons, are strict enough. The law allows citizens or legal residents over the age of 18 who have received a government license and do not have a criminal record or mental illness to purchase up to three firearms from a licensed dealer, with the exception of automatic weapons and selective firearms, which are prohibited. Semi-automatic machines that have wreaked havoc in the United States can be purchased legally. On the contrary, in America, the Second Amendment was created to give its citizens the right to protect themselves from tyranny. Largely because of the circumstances in which our country was created, the Bill of Rights is supposed to allow freedom, even if it means opposing one`s own corrupt government, as the Founding Fathers did against the British. While Swiss gun laws are designed to help protect its citizens from outside attacks, U.S. laws were created to protect us from evil within our own borders. Switzerland has long had a reputation as a neutral nation when it comes to war and conflict, but in a perhaps ironic twist, they are known to have a very strong gun culture.
Its official position of “armed neutrality” has kept it safe in the past, and its training and arming of citizens is likely to protect it in the future. But Swiss gun control laws are often completely misinterpreted. It is touted as a gun lovering country with one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, but in fact, Switzerland still has about half the number of guns per capita as the United States (the most liberal estimates place gun ownership per 100 people compared to 89 guns per 100 people in the United States). The number of guns in the country has declined in recent years due to a smaller militia and stricter laws, and the Swiss government`s own data puts that statistic much lower, estimating only 24.5 guns per 100 people in 2016. Firearms owners who wish to take their firearm with them daily can obtain a gun licence, but must first demonstrate a need for the weapon (self-protection or protection of others) and pass a theoretical and practical test in terms of firearms safety and use. The practical test tests the user`s ability to load, unload and use the weapon, and the theoretical part tests knowledge of the types of weapons and ammunition, safety measures and, perhaps most importantly, gun laws and the consequences of criminal acts committed with a firearm. Most gun owners in Switzerland do not have a driver`s license unless they need one to work, as in the case of police and security forces. While it may be too late to reduce the number of firearms in the United States, it is possible to influence their lethality and ease of access.
In Switzerland, all automatic weapons for civilians are banned. Since 2007, additional laws restricting the sale and possession of ammunitionexternal link have reduced gun suicides and domestic violence. Weapons and ammunition must also be stored separately and safely. Such access control does not affect the right to own firearms, but it does reduce both accidental deaths and firearm-related suicides. Switzerland has a much smaller percentage of these incidents, and U.S. states that have introduced gun storage requirements (usually for the protection of minors) have also seen a decrease in gun deaths. Overall, this meme compares two countries that don`t look the least bit alike, and then gets almost every aspect of the countries it refers to wrong. As such, it is not at all useful or educational as a talking point for debates about gun ownership laws. Every mass shooting in the U.S.
sparks a new debate about the effectiveness of gun control regulations, and the Oct. 1, 2015, shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon that killed nine people was no exception. In such debates, each side typically presents graphs juxtaposing violent crime and homicide rates in countries with permissive and restrictive gun ownership laws to argue that gun prevalence corresponds to higher or lower crime rates. The Umpqua Community College shooting led to widespread online dissemination of an image purporting to indicate that two countries with roughly equal populations, Honduras and Switzerland, had radically different gun ownership laws and radically different murder rates: Switzerland, where gun ownership is supposed to be mandatory, has the lowest homicide rate in the world. While Honduras, where gun ownership is supposed to be banned, has the highest homicide rate in the world: Here are some of the laws on gun ownership in Switzerland: Since then, other provisions have been added to keep the country on an equal footing with EU gun laws, and the number of deaths, including suicides, continued to decline. In terms of murder rates, Honduras has the highest intentional murder rate in the world, at around 90.4 murders per 100,000 inhabitants per year (which is even shockingly higher than the murder rate of the second worst country, Venezuela, at 53.7). Although the intentional homicide rate in Switzerland is indeed low at 0.6, it is not quite the lowest in the world: it is surpassed by several other countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Iceland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, the latter two having some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the world. In addition, a better measure for comparison purposes may be the firearm mortality rate rather than the overall intentional homicide rate; in this case, Honduras is still the worst, but Switzerland does not do as well (behind about 43 other countries).
In Switzerland, the Weapons Ordinance authorises the acquisition of semi-automatic and – with authorisation – fully automatic weapons by Swiss citizens and foreigners with or without permanent residence. [Note 1] [1] The laws on the acquisition of firearms in Switzerland are among the most liberal in the world. [2] It is not necessary to possess a weapon to have a reason, unless the reason is other than sport shooting, hunting or gathering. [3] Concealed wearing permits in public are granted sparingly. [Note 2] [4] The purchase of fully automatic weapons, silencers and sighting lasers requires special authorization from the Cantonal Firearms Office. [5] The free sale of hollow-point and soft-point ammunition is limited to hunting. [6] However, Switzerland`s relatively liberal rules could soon be challenged from outside the country`s borders. The country is a member of the Schengen Area, the group of 26 European countries that allows the free movement of people. Other members of the Schengen area are also members of the European Union (Switzerland is not).
Last year, the EU tightened restrictions on gun ownership and Switzerland, as a member of the Schengen area, must adapt its laws to the new rules by August this year. Swiss gun rights activists are already considering legal action because, among other things, they are taking up the idea of an arms registry. In addition, some countries have laws on raw (unpasteurized) milk cheese and they may be harder to find outside of Switzerland. Raw milk cheese tends to taste stronger. So if you like it and live in a place that prohibits this type of cheese, you will believe that the best cheese remains in Switzerland! For this reason, Switzerland has become a common example of NRA supporters and Second Amendment advocates when they argue that high rates of gun ownership don`t necessarily mean more mass shootings. But gun laws in Switzerland – especially after changes made in 2008 to comply with the EU`s firearms directive – are more nuanced and restrictive than many realize. Switzerland`s gun laws were much more flexible, with different laws in each of the country`s 26 cantonal regions. But when the crime rate began to rise in the 1990s, Switzerland cracked down on guns. When they became part of the Schengen Agreement in 2008, Switzerland made further concessions to its firearms laws.
Currently, Swiss legislation prohibits the use of automatic weapons, silencers, laser sights and heavy machine guns. The government requires a licence to acquire and carry firearms and requires registration and licences for the possession of firearms, with some exceptions for hunting weapons. Virtually everyone in Switzerland is trained in the use of a weapon, yes, but this training and the use, storage and transport of weapons are highly regulated. Switzerland has not participated in any international armed conflict since 1815, but some Swiss soldiers participate in peacekeeping missions around the world.