werner@utastro.UUCP (09/21/83)
As far as I remember, the Swiss keep their guns locked up at home. I think they have no ammunition, however. I am not even under the impression that they may take it out into the street at any other time than their scheduled military refreshers. Does someone know for certain ?? I don't think we have a Swiss machine on the net yet, do we ??
swatt@ittvax.UUCP (Alan S. Watt) (09/23/83)
This is from someone who just returned from Switzerland: There are almost no controls on what kind of firearms you can buy in Switzerland. If you are in the reserves (most men 18-45 are), you MUST keep your government-supplied automatic rifle and [I think] 2000 rounds of ammunition in your primary residence. You must also periodically [I think every 2 months] demonstrate your competance with this weapon. It is quite common to see Swiss on bicycles with automatic weapons over their shoulders on their way to firing ranges. In addition to members of the reserves, anyone can purchase additional firearms, including handguns. They may keep these handguns in their homes and may take them to ranges to shoot them. In a conversation with a gun shop owner, it was explained that people could not just walk down the street in California with a handgun. The gun shop owner expressed amazement at this restrction. The Swiss are not as homogeneous a population as some have asserted. There are three separate national origins among the Swiss: French, German, and Italian. Each group strongly disparages the other two, but all groups disparage non-Swiss more. This is cohesion of a sort. Regarding the relevance of the Swiss example. If Switzerland is irrelevant as some have asserted, then surely so are England and Canada. The example of Switzerland should suffice to prove that the abundance of privately-owned firearms (including handguns) does not turn otherwise law-abiding people into homicidal maniacs. The examples of England and Canada should suffice to prove that the relative absence of firearms does not turn the disarmed populace into helpless victims of roving gangs of illegally-armed thugs. How much each conclusion applies to the US is not clear; you cannot take two countries with different cultures and histories and make comparisions based on just one factor. - Alan S. Watt