a copy of what I wrote about swiss gun laws, in my presentation thread:for those who might have missed it
Swiss law about silencers/suppressors is clear: from 1999, they are forbidden to buy, like the full auto guns. BUT, like the full auto, you can buy them asking for a forbidden guns and accessories permit, which cost 3 times the standard permit for 3 guns (150$ instead of 50$) and you will be given this kind of permit only if you already own a small collection of guns and that you are proved to be reliable.
But silencers/suppressors are LEGAL to OWN and USE if you purchased them before 1999.. (stupid laws..) Same goes for laser aiming devices.
For full auto guns, as i said, you can buy and own them asking for the special permit.. but if you want to shoot them, even only using semi-auto mode, you have to ask a permit for that day, and a defined shooting range, and it will cost you a hundred bucks, only for THAT day... so generally, you only owns full auto's for collection.. and buy semi for shooting.
so if you just fork out the cash (and have proven to be reliable etc) you can still buy and use a suppressor ?
sure, but often it is up to the "bureau" of your "canton" (that is how we call the States of our confederation.. we have 23 of them). In some Canton they give the permit quite easely, in others, they are more reluctant to it.. I dont like it because nothing state clearely who can, and who cannot.. it's just a guy that pick up a decision. For example, in my canton (Geneva), it is not easy.. I have friend that got the permit and the suppressor, but he had a great argument.. it was needed for his .50 sniper rifle, because it was damn loud. Im not sure they would give me a permit for .223 or my glock19 in 9mm... But in some other cantons they give it right away.
and that permit isn't necessary as long as you bought the suppressor before 1999?
yes.. what is forbidden now and from 1999 is not using or owning, but it's buying or selling. What you own before 1999, you can own and use, and no permit (understand as "tax") is required. See mine.
So can you purchase new full auto fire-arms in Switzerland if you have a permit?
Of course you can. Maybe not if you are asking your first permit, but since you have already bought a couple of guns and say that you want to start a full auto collection, there is no reason they would not allow you to have them (if your criminal record is clean, of course) .
the only special rule for full auto, btw, is that you need to have a safe. and you must store the weapon and bolt separately. (bolt in the safe for example). The other "problem" with full's is that sometimes I heard that they come to check to your house, to see f you obey the laws..(but that's not proven to be systematic)
There is no such law for semi. You can store them wherever you want, and even loaded if you'd really want, but you are responsible of it. That means you must make sure that nobody you don't want to can be hurt due to that.
Not really. We don't have such a 2nd amendment here-.
But as you know, we are a direct democracy. Which means we vote at least 3 times a year, on more than 12 subjects. ( a vote can count many subjects)
You disagree with something ? you gather 100 000 signatures from people who agree with you and the law proposition goes under the parlament and than through the national vote.
To win, you need the double majority (people, and Canton (States)) to say YES to you proposition. If you win, the law is adopted.
And, by tradition, in ancient times, people voted on public places (even in the late 70's in some places of Switzerland, see : "landsgemeinde"), in center of villages and towns, rising their hands (no secrecy of vote) in the air and being counted..
And by tradition, they brought their sword/rifle for voting.
Which symbolically meaned.
I am free to vote, and my weapon will ensure that my vote is taken into account !
Beside that background, we have a military militia. Every men should (number of young people avoinding this by many excuses is increasing..) serve 4 months in the army when he is around 20, and than serve 3 weeks a year until he reaches the 3xx days of army (more for officers) or until he reaches 34...
And during all that time, we keep at home all our military equipement, including rifle and ammo (that why my Sig550 is there) .. When we are over with the army, we can still keep our rifle, but will eventually have to pay 100$ to "castrate" the rifle to SEMI only.
That is how things work here.. and as you see, weapons and guns are really "linked" to our tradtions..
Unfortunately, we also have what you call "liberals", who think that they can save us from ourselves, and that think that they can live in a free world, with no danger, no death, no evil, and that use our marvellous democracy to lie to people who have no real knowledge about gun FACTS, and they try this way to restrain our rights, more and more..
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.
2nd 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...
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 !
