Gun politics in Switzerland

A citizen practicing the yearly mandatory training.

Gun politics in Switzerland are unique in Europe. The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 34 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations. However, it is generally not permitted to keep army-issued ammunition, but compatible ammunition purchased for privately owned guns is permitted. At the end of military service period the previously used gun can be converted to a privately owned gun after a weapon acquisition permit has been granted (fully automatic weapons will be rebuilt into semi-automatic ones). Switzerland thus has a relatively high gun ownership rate (31%-61% in 2005, declining).[1] Current research from 2014 estimates gun ownership rate around 25%.[2] In recent times a minority of political opposition has expressed a desire for tighter gun regulations.[3] A referendum in February 2011 rejected stricter gun control.[4][5]

Number of guns in circulation

According to recent (2014) estimations of guns per 100 residents is about 25,[2] which is, for example, lower than Germany, France, or Austria.

As of 2012, based on figures from the millennium, there were reported by US-American newspapers (with their supposedly own agenda) to be 3.4 million civilian guns in circulation in Switzerland, which would give the country a gun ownership rate of about 45.7 per 100 people, the third-highest in the world.[6]

In some 2001 statistics, it is noted that there are about 420,000 assault rifles (fully automatic, or "selective fire") stored at private homes, mostly SIG SG 550 models. Additionally, there are some 320,000 semi-auto rifles and military pistols exempted from military service in private possession, all selective-fire weapons having been converted to semi-automatic operation only. In addition, there are several hundred thousand other semi-automatic small arms classified as – thoroughly outdated – carbines.

In 2005 over 10% of households contained handguns, compared to 18% of U.S. households that contained handguns. In 2005 almost 29% of households in Switzerland contained firearms of some kind, compared to almost 43% in the US.[7]

Regulation

Switzerland's Weapons Law (WG, LArm)[8] and Weapons Act (WV, OArm)[9] has been revised to accede to the Schengen Treaty effective 12 December 2008.

The law is applied to the following weapons:

A "shooting society " somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition.

Generally prohibited arms are:

Acquisition

Buying guns

In order to purchase most weapons, the purchaser must obtain a weapon acquisition permit (Art. 8 WG). Swiss citizens over the age of 18 who are not psychiatrically disqualified nor identified as posing security problems, and who have a clean criminal record can request such a permit. Foreigners with the following citizenship are explicitly excluded from the right to possess weapons: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania (Art. 12, WV). The following information must be provided to the cantonal weapon bureau together with the weapon application form:

For each transfer of a weapon or an essential weapon component without weapons acquisition permit (Art. 10 WG), a written contract must be concluded. Each Party shall keep them at least ten years. The contract must include the following information (Art. 11 WG):

This information must be sent within 30 days to the cantonal weapon registration bureau, where the weapon holders are registered (Art. 9 WG).

Some weapons do not need a weapon acquisition permit (Art. 10 WG):

Buying Ammunition

Ready ammunition of the Swiss Army. Soldiers equipped with the Sig 550 assault rifle used to be issued 50 rounds of ammunition in a sealed can, to be opened only upon alert and for use while en route to join their unit. This practice was stopped in 2007.[10]

In order to purchase ammunition the buyer must follow the same legal rules that apply to buying guns. The buyer can only buy munition for guns that he/she legally owns and must provide the following information to the seller (Art. 15, 16 WG; Art 24 WV):[8][9]

This also applies for weapons which do not require a weapon acquisition permit (see above, excluding the weapon acquisition permit, of course).

This information must be sent within 30 days to the cantonal weapon registration bureau, where the weapon holder is registered.

The same applies to black powder and modern black powder substitutes for use in firing historical rifles.

A Swiss 100 gram black powder container.

The possession of the following munition is generally prohibited:

Carrying guns

To carry a loaded firearm in public or outdoors (and for an individual who is a member of the militia carrying a firearm other than his Army-issue personal weapons off-duty), a person must have a Waffentragbewilligung (gun carrying permit), which in most cases is issued only to private citizens working in occupations such as security.[8] It is, however, quite common to see a person serving military service to be en route with his rifle, albeit unloaded.[11]

Conditions for getting a Carrying Permit

There are three conditions:

The carrying permit remains valid for a term of five years (unless otherwise surrendered or revoked), and applies only to the type of firearm for which the permit was issued. Additional constraints may be invoked to modify any specific permit. Neither hunters nor game wardens require a carrying permit.

Transporting guns

Guns may be transported in public as long as an appropriate justification is present. This means to transport a gun in public, the following requirements apply:

Army-issued arms and ammunition collection

The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the recruit school, the basic-training camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30 (age 34 for officers).

A "shooting society" somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition.

In October 2007, the Swiss Federal Council decided that the distribution of ammunition to soldiers would stop and that previously issued ammo would be returned. By March 2011, more than 99% of the ammo has been received. Only special rapid deployment units and the military police still store government issued ammunition at home today.[12]

When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. However, keeping the weapon after end of service requires a weapon acquisition permit.

The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents, both male and female. The sale of ammunition – including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles – is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many Federal Council licensed shooting ranges. That ammunition sold at ranges must be immediately used there under supervision (Art. 16 WG).

The Swiss Army maintains tightened adherence to high standards of lawful military conduct. In 2005, for example, when the Swiss prosecuted recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges was improper use of service weapons.[13]

Storage of military-issued ammunition

Prior to 2007 members of the Swiss Militia were supplied with 50-rounds of ammunition for their military weapon in a sealed ammo box that was regularly audited by the government. This was so that, in the case of an emergency, the militia could respond quickly. However, since 2007 this practice has been discontinued. Only 2,000 specialist militia members (who protect airports and other sites of particular sensitivity) are permitted to keep their military-issued ammunition at home. The rest of the militia get their ammunition from their military armory in the event of an emergency.[8][12]

Recreational shooting

Recreational shooting is widespread in Switzerland. Practice with guns is a popular form of recreation, and is encouraged by the government, particularly for the members of the militia.

Prior to the turn of the century, about 200,000 people used to attend the annual Feldschiessen, which is the largest rifle shooting competition in the world. In 2012 they counted 130,000 participants.[14] For the 2015 Federal Shooting (Eidg. Schützenfest) 37,000 shooters are registered.[15] In addition, there are several private shooting ranges which rent guns.

Gun culture in Switzerland

Switzerland has a strong gun culture compared to other countries in the world.[16][17] Groups like ProTell lobby for the preservation of Switzerland's gun rights. Additionally, the Schweizerischer Schützenverein, a Swiss shooting association, organizes the Eidgenössische Schützenfeste, currently in intervals of five years.

Gun crime

Further information: Gun violence and Crime in Switzerland

In 2014 there were 173 attempted and completed homicides, of which 18 involved firearms (10.4%). 41 of them were completed, therefore Switzerland had a murder rate of 0.49 per 100,000 population, the lowest raw figure and lowest rate for 33 years, since the start of the nationwide coordinated collection of statistical data, despite a strong growth of inhabitants (from 6.4 million to 8.1 million, +27%) over the same period.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Keith Krause, Eric G. Berman, ed. (September 2007). "Small Arms Survey 2007" (PDF). Geneva, Switzerland: The Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-88039-8. Retrieved 26 August 2015. 3,400,000 firearms. 7,344,000 population.
  2. 1 2 Adrian Meyer (18 February 2014). "Waffenkammer Schweiz: So viele Waffen liegen bei Schweizern zu Hause" (in German). Zurich, switzerland: Blick. Retrieved 2015-10-03. Damit kämen in der Schweiz rund 250 Waffen auf 1000 Einwohner.
  3. ↑ "De-Quilling the Porcupine: Swiss Mull Tighter Gun Laws". Der Spiegel (Hamburg, Germany). 2 May 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Switzerland rejects tighter gun controls". BBC News. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
  5. ↑ "Abstimmungen – Indikatoren: Eidgenössische Volksabstimmung vom 13. Februar 2011 – Volksinitiative «Für den Schutz vor Waffengewalt»" (official site). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO). 13 February 2011. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
  6. ↑ "Gun homicides and gun ownership by country". Washington Post. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective" (PDF). Den Haag, The Netherlands: WDOC, Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum. Retrieved 2015-03-16. Table 18 on page 279
  8. 1 2 3 4 "SR 514.54 Bundesgesetz über Waffen, Waffenzubehör und Munition (Waffengesetz WG)" (in German, Italian, and French). Berne, Switzerland: The Swiss Federal Council. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  9. 1 2 3 "SR 514.541 Verordnung über Waffen, Waffenzubehör und Munition (Waffenverordnung WV)" (in German, Italian, and French). Berne, Switzerland: The Swiss Federal Council. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  10. ↑ "Soldiers can keep guns at home but not ammo". SWI Swissinfo.ch, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  11. ↑ "SR 514.10 Verordnung über die persönliche Ausrüstung der Armeeangehörigen (VPAA)" (in German, French, and Italian). The Swiss Federal Council. 5 December 2003. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  12. 1 2 "Taschenmunition fast vollständig eingezogen". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German) (Zurich, Switzerland). 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  13. ↑ Patrick Marbach (15 August 2005). "Schweizer Rekruten spielen Irak-Folterer". 20 Minuten (in German) (Zurich, Switzerland). Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  14. ↑ "Feldschiessen". Lebendige Traditionen. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  15. ↑ Giannis Mavris (4 July 2015). "Familienausflug mit dem Sturmgewehr". Neuste Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) (in German) (Zurich, Switzerland). Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  16. ↑ Bachmann, Helena (December 20, 2012). "The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works". TIME. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Soraya Sarhaddi (March 19, 2013). "What's Worked, And What Hasn't, In Gun-Loving Switzerland". NPR. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (PKS) - Jahresbericht 2014" (PDF) (official federal site) (in German, French, and Italian). Swiss Federal Statistical Office; Konferenz der kantonalen Justiz- und Polizeidirektoren. 23 March 2015. pp. 13, 34–38. Retrieved 2015-08-14.

External links

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