Shung,
How do Swiss laws deal with handguns. Can you own, carry openly, carry concealed, etc.?
you can own as many guns (including handguns) as you want (if you are swiss or legally living in Switzerland, that you have no criminal records, and that you are not from certain sensitive countries (ie balkans, south america, turk, those country ask that we give no gun permit to their citizen).
You have 2 ways to get hand gun in Switzerland:
1st: you ask a permit to the gun office of your "canton" (state) ... they will, on the 1st time make a little information about you, and if you are "clean" and than you pay 50$ ,you have a permit to buy 3 guns in the same gunshop of your choice (but gunshops are cool in some places, and they send themself, as they can do it, the guns that you want, if they are in different places, so that you can get them all from the same shop.) The paper work will be done. You will keep a copy, the gunshop will keep one, and will send one to the gun office. That's the main way.
The second way, is the second hand way, which is also perfectly legal from 1998. If I want to sell a gun for example (we have no distinction for rifle or handguns... they are gun, point. Only single shot rifles or hunting shotgun are easier to get) , I find a buyer. I must check, if I dont know him, that he matches the requirements, being swiss, or legally living here, and that he has no criminal record (we can ask ours for 20$ to the gov) ... If I consider the guy "clean" I can sell him the gun.
We only need to write a 2 pieces contract, in which we will write both our adresses, names, type of gun, caliber and serial number of the gun, date, and we will sign it both.. and than we will each of us, keep a copy of that contract for 10years . That way, the police or the gov, is never informed of the transaction, and this is legal. If a crime is committed with my gun, the police will see who it was sold first, by the gunshop for example, and will find my name.. they will come to check me... At that time, I will show them the contract with the name of the guy I sold the gun to.. and they will go to check that guy.. if the guy sold it also, they will go to check the guy name on the next contract etc etc...
Unfortunately, this law of second hand buisness is going to end at the end of this year. From 2009 we will have to ask the permit to the police, each time we buy a gun, even if its from a second hand and not a gunshop..
We argued that this was stupid, since the present law state that you can throw away your contract after 10 years of owning the gun... the law came in 10 years ago, so when the law will change, many people will destroy they contract on purpose, as they have the right to do it. That way they will prevent their gun to be seized, for whatever reasons the liberals may find in the futur...
Sad to admit, but this will feed the black market.. Collectors, who know each others , like we do, certainly won't ask new permit for second hand buying after 2008, mainly because it would cost 50$ each time.. The simple solution will be to make pre 2009 style contracts, and write a wrong date on it ....
And that how you make respectfull citizens, "criminals", by applying stupid laws..
these guys still think real criminals ask police permit to get guns...:banghead:
as for carry, concealed or not, it was possible in many states before 1999...
Now its not anymore. To ask for a concelead carry, you must be working as a body guard, or be seriously threaten and proove it, or be very wealthy and say that you fear for your money... Shortly that means only people with a lot of money can afford gun protection.. which is BULL****. I'd rather have a very hard exam to go through (both medically, mentally and technically) but the right to everyone who proove to be capable and responsible to carry a gun, to be authorized to...
The good news is that you can still use your guns for defense when you are in your home/appartement/private land, if you feel that you are enough threatened.
anyway, my great grandfather who made WWI and WW2, used to say : better a good trial than a coffin !
