Switzerland: Peaceful but... Armed

[himanshu maru]

Switzerland has earned its reputation as a safe, neutral nation. Yet it’s hardly pacifist or gun-averse.

In fact, the small and stable country has the highest firearm ownership rate in Europe —

46 guns for every 100 people

— and the third-highest in the world, outdone only by the U.S. (89) and and Yemen (55).

The precise number of privately owned guns is unclear because many are undeclared. Switzerland also has no national centralized register, with records kept only by the 26 cantons. The Small Arm Survey published by Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS), estimates it at 3.4 million firearms for a population of nearly 8 million.

This staggering figure is partly explained by Switzerland’s unusual national defense system, which relies mostly on a citizen militia.

All Swiss men aged 18 to 34 undergo military service and are issued with an assault rifle or pistol to keep at home, in case they are called to protect their homeland. Historians believe the system dissuaded the Germans from invading Switzerland during World War II.

Gun culture is deeply seated in the country, regulations are liberal and sport shooting is extremely popular.

Given how many Swiss have a weapon lying around in their basement or cupboard, Switzerland’s rate of gun-related deaths — 3 per 100,000 people — may seem low compared to the United States’, where it’s 10.3 per 100,000.

Possible explanations? One is strict gun control enforcement. Automatic weapons are banned and gun permits refused if the person has a criminal record, addiction or psychiatric problem. Others could be social or cultural, including a lack of serious drug or poverty issues, coupled with the notorious Swiss concern for safety and regard for rules.

Within Europe, Switzerland holds the second-highest rate of gun-related deaths after Finland, three times that of Germany and over 10 times that of the United Kingdom.

Mass shootings are rare. The most notorious one happened in 2001, when a man walked into the regional parliament of Zug and shot dead 14 people and injured 10 others before killing himself.

After this incident, left-wing politicians and victims associations demanded a nationwide referendum calling for the storage of military firearms in public arsenals, instead of private homes, and the establishment of a national gun registry. The referendum failed in 2011, with 56.3 percent of voters opposing it.

The issue gained momentum again last year, after a gunman killed four people and wounded six others in Lucerne, shortly after another man had shot three women dead and wounded two men in a small southern village.

Following these high-profile incidents, the Swiss government vowed to take measured action to increase gun control by augmenting the exchange of information between regional firearm registries. Still, Switzerland’s atypical military system and ingrained gun-friendliness are likely to ensure the country stays locked and loaded for years

[TwoRivers]

Unless this information stems from your own research, you should list your source.

[HSharief]

Is there a point to that original post ?

[farook]

The Swiss are pretty comfortable with their Gun Culture

[brihacharan]

The Swiss are pretty comfortable with their Gun Culture

Here's some food for thought!!!
The Swiss Difference - A Gun Culture That Works
By Helena Bachmann / Geneva Dec. 20, 2012

> The country had one mass shooting in 2001, but a resulting anti-gun referendum failed to pass.
> The Swiss will not give up the gun.

Even though Switzerland has not been involved in an armed conflict since a standoff between Catholics and Protestants in 1847, the Swiss are very serious not only about their right to own weapons but also to carry them around in public. Because of this general acceptance and even pride in gun ownership, nobody bats an eye at the sight of a civilian riding a bus, bike or motorcycle to the shooting range, with a rifle slung across the shoulder.

We will never change our attitude about the responsible use of weapons by law-abiding citizens,” says HERMANN SUTER, vice president of Pro-Tell, the country’s gun lobby, named after legendary apple shooter William Tell, who used a crossbow to target enemies long before firearms were invented.

Switzerland trails behind only the U.S, Yemen and Serbia in the number of guns per capita; between 2.3 million and 4.5 million military and private firearms are estimated to be in circulation in a country of only 8 million people.

Yet, despite the prevalence of guns, the violent-crime rate is low: government figures show about 0.5 gun homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010. By comparison, the U.S rate in the same year was about 5 firearm killings per 100,000 people, according to a 2011 U.N. report.

Switzerland’s gun ownership is deeply rooted in a sense of patriotic duty and national identity. Weapons are kept at home because of the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland quickly, so every soldier had to be able to fight his way to his regiment’s assembly point.

Switzerland was at risk of being invaded by Germany during World War II but was spared, historians say, because every Swiss man was armed and trained to shoot!!!
(Ref: world.time.com/2012/12/.../the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-work)
Briha