Drizzt
Member
Right to bear arms set to trigger new debate
There are no precise figures on the number of firearms in circulation
The Senate is due to launch a review of the country's firearms legislation this week as part of parliament's regular summer session.
The draft law foresees a slight tightening of regulations for purchasing and keeping guns and rifles, but it falls short of introducing a central database of all weapons in circulation.
Despite a long tradition of bearing arms and fairly responsible attitudes towards guns, Switzerland is not immune to tragedy and the gun law is a highly controversial subject.
It appears to be a contradiction that Switzerland, an orderly country with an efficient administration, has no record on the exact number of firearms.
Official estimates are surprisingly vague: between one and three million weapons, many of them kept in people's houses.
According to the Small Arms Survey (SAS), an international research programme based in Geneva, the per capita figure for weapons ownership in Switzerland is in fact above average.
"This is not due to the legal framework, which is neither liberal nor strict," says Keith Krause, director of SAS. "It depends far more on cultural and social factors. Switzerland has a traditional culture of bearing arms."
For example, soldiers of Switzerland's militia army are allowed to keep their army rifles and pistols at home. And the various sports involving firearms are particularly popular. There are more than 150,000 active members of rifle clubs, many of whom own more than one weapon.
Culture and tradition
"Things have been this way for centuries. The Swiss learn familiarity with weapons as children, in the company of their fathers," is the intentionally reassuring message of Willy Pfund, president of Pro Tell, an association that campaigns for liberal arms legislation.
"There is no need to worry. The Swiss have a responsible attitude towards firearms."
But Amnesty International believes that the availability of guns should be restricted, saying the fact that they are kept in the home is a permanent risk and could be a contributing factor for suicides and murders.
"In Switzerland, the percentage of people killed by firearms is slightly higher than in the rest of Western Europe", says Krause, who admits that it is not possible to identify a direct link between the numbers of weapons in circulation and their use.
However, the debate flares up every time a tragedy occurs, as it did in April when a former women's skiing champion, Corinne Rey-Bellet, was killed by her husband with his army pistol.
Schengen area
The government wants to impose tighter controls, largely to bring regulations into line with the regime in force in the European Union's Schengen area, which Switzerland will be joining in the near future.
The draft law includes introducing a mandatory permit for purchasing or keeping all types of firearms which is not at present necessary for all weapons.
It also foresees a ban on anonymous sales through the internet or small ads, and an obligation to report sales between private individuals.
"These are important moves and we support them," comments Amnesty International. "We welcome the prospect of an exchange of information between the armed forces and the Federal Police Office. There are some improvements, but we remain sceptical, given the decision not to go for a central arms register."
Central register
The establishment of such a register was initially to have been a key aspect of the reform.
But the proposal was rejected by 93 per cent of those questioned during the consultation procedure, mainly for financial reasons and because people objected to seeing their rights as free citizen curtailed.
"It would be difficult to bring in a register of this kind, given the Swiss federal system", Krause points out. He says an inventory of Switzerland's arsenal would be useful, although it would be difficult to assess its impact in reducing acts of violence.
Pfund of the gun lobby group rejects the proposed restrictions and thinks it far more important "to educate young people to have a safe and responsible relationship with firearms. It is a learning process, a question of learning adult behaviour".
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/...l?siteSect=105&sid=6787631&cKey=1149668371000
There are no precise figures on the number of firearms in circulation
The Senate is due to launch a review of the country's firearms legislation this week as part of parliament's regular summer session.
The draft law foresees a slight tightening of regulations for purchasing and keeping guns and rifles, but it falls short of introducing a central database of all weapons in circulation.
Despite a long tradition of bearing arms and fairly responsible attitudes towards guns, Switzerland is not immune to tragedy and the gun law is a highly controversial subject.
It appears to be a contradiction that Switzerland, an orderly country with an efficient administration, has no record on the exact number of firearms.
Official estimates are surprisingly vague: between one and three million weapons, many of them kept in people's houses.
According to the Small Arms Survey (SAS), an international research programme based in Geneva, the per capita figure for weapons ownership in Switzerland is in fact above average.
"This is not due to the legal framework, which is neither liberal nor strict," says Keith Krause, director of SAS. "It depends far more on cultural and social factors. Switzerland has a traditional culture of bearing arms."
For example, soldiers of Switzerland's militia army are allowed to keep their army rifles and pistols at home. And the various sports involving firearms are particularly popular. There are more than 150,000 active members of rifle clubs, many of whom own more than one weapon.
Culture and tradition
"Things have been this way for centuries. The Swiss learn familiarity with weapons as children, in the company of their fathers," is the intentionally reassuring message of Willy Pfund, president of Pro Tell, an association that campaigns for liberal arms legislation.
"There is no need to worry. The Swiss have a responsible attitude towards firearms."
But Amnesty International believes that the availability of guns should be restricted, saying the fact that they are kept in the home is a permanent risk and could be a contributing factor for suicides and murders.
"In Switzerland, the percentage of people killed by firearms is slightly higher than in the rest of Western Europe", says Krause, who admits that it is not possible to identify a direct link between the numbers of weapons in circulation and their use.
However, the debate flares up every time a tragedy occurs, as it did in April when a former women's skiing champion, Corinne Rey-Bellet, was killed by her husband with his army pistol.
Schengen area
The government wants to impose tighter controls, largely to bring regulations into line with the regime in force in the European Union's Schengen area, which Switzerland will be joining in the near future.
The draft law includes introducing a mandatory permit for purchasing or keeping all types of firearms which is not at present necessary for all weapons.
It also foresees a ban on anonymous sales through the internet or small ads, and an obligation to report sales between private individuals.
"These are important moves and we support them," comments Amnesty International. "We welcome the prospect of an exchange of information between the armed forces and the Federal Police Office. There are some improvements, but we remain sceptical, given the decision not to go for a central arms register."
Central register
The establishment of such a register was initially to have been a key aspect of the reform.
But the proposal was rejected by 93 per cent of those questioned during the consultation procedure, mainly for financial reasons and because people objected to seeing their rights as free citizen curtailed.
"It would be difficult to bring in a register of this kind, given the Swiss federal system", Krause points out. He says an inventory of Switzerland's arsenal would be useful, although it would be difficult to assess its impact in reducing acts of violence.
Pfund of the gun lobby group rejects the proposed restrictions and thinks it far more important "to educate young people to have a safe and responsible relationship with firearms. It is a learning process, a question of learning adult behaviour".
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/...l?siteSect=105&sid=6787631&cKey=1149668371000
Go protest Tasers or do some other humorously-entertaining public spectacle.
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