SWITZERLAND — PEACEFUL BUT ARMED
Switzerland: Peaceful
but... Armed
JULY 07, 2014. BY LAURA SECORUN PALET
witzerland 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 to come.



Switzerland: Peaceful but... Armed http://www.ozy.com/acumen/switzerland-loves-guns/32578.article#.U9dkxnI8zPw.twitter via @ozy

I don't think this can work here. Shooting would just become a new way of venting frustrations.

Guns would be handed to people based on their records, and only sane people should have access to it.