Posted on 08/06/2016 7:04:36 AM PDT by marktwain
The Swiss have always had a lot of guns and significant freedom. Machiavelli noted it in "The Prince" in 1517:
“Moreover, a Republic trusting to her own forces, is with greater difficulty than one which relies on foreign arms brought to yield obedience to a single citizen. Rome and Sparta remained for ages armed and free. The Swiss are at once the best armed and the freest people in the world.”The Swiss have remained one of the best armed countries in the world since then. Many claim they escaped most of the ravages of WWII because of their citizen army. Switzerland is said not to "have an army" but "be an army". The current spate of terrorist attacks in Europe has reinforced Swiss' love of arms. Because of their universal training and weaponry, Switzerland has the largest potential army in Europe. 1.5 million men capable of bearing arms, who have the arms and ammunition and training. The Swiss are buying even more guns. From usatoday.com:
GENEVA — Business at Daniel Wyss’ gun shop has been brisk lately in the village of Burgdorf near Switzerland’s capital of Bern.USA Today cannot help but throw in some anti-Second Amendment propaganda, which is blatantly misleading:
He said the increased demand for firearms is triggered by a growing fear among the Swiss public that terrorists could attack their tranquil land at any time.
As nations around Europe tighten their gun laws after a series of terror attacks in several countries since 2015, the Swiss are bucking this trend by turning to firearms for protection.
Official statistics show that gun sales in some parts of Switzerland soared nearly 50% after last year’s attacks in Paris and the March bombings in Brussels. And gun sales continue to grow since the killings in France and Germany in the past two weeks.
In Wyss’ shop, “the demand for pistols, revolvers and pump-action guns rose by 30% to 50% after this month’s attacks in Nice and Munich,” he told USA TODAY.
Even though guns are prevalent, the violent crime rate is relatively low: about 7.7 firearm homicides a year per 1 million people, according to Human Development Index. In the United States, that number is nearly 30, one of the highest in the world.First, the mind trick is to only look at "gun deaths". That is insane. If reducing the number of guns increases other deaths, or makes no difference, what is the point of the policy of reducing guns?
Neal Atkins ·
University of North Texas
Uh, IDIOT, the U.S. does not have the "highest firearm homicide rate in the world". Or more importantly, the highest MURDER rate. Unless of course you think some one killed by "gunviolence" is MORE DEAD than, say, the priest that was BEHEADED in France today. You might look at the socialist utopia of Venezuela for the "highest murder rate in the world". PS, only the GOVERNMENT and CRIMINALS can have gunz there.
Like · Reply ·6 · Jul 26, 2016 4:16pm
Ms Bachmann
Helena Bachmann ·
Morges, Switzerland
We are not including countries where gun violence is generated by civil war, conflicts, gang violence, etc. http://www.npr.org/.../the-u-s-is-a-world-leader-in-gun...
You can see this by looking up Swiss homicide statistics. Sometimes the gun homicides numbers are shown as more than the total homicides!
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2012/12/swiss-gun-murders-lower-than-reported.html
If you back out the crime stats from the largest urban areas controlled by Democrats in the USA, our homicide rate would be as low as Switzerland’s.
I was under the impression that in Switzerland and Israel, military service is compulsory and when finished, you retain your weapon. My question is, if true, what weapon are they given?
Pretty, very pretty, but can they Yodel?
The difference between Switzerland and many locals with higher gun crimes is that Switzerland has much different demographics.
Had a couple of swiss tourists at the house last week. They shot some of my pistols off my backyard T bench. They said even though they have their reserve rifle packed away in the basement; nobody ever shoots them except during summer training. They also told me you never see people with guns in public and almost no hunting available for the average person. They thought it was quite amusing that American think the Swiss have guns privately; not the case they said. They were surprised to see guns everywhere here in Alaska. I keep hearing about all the guns the Swiss own, but they said most guns are owned in places like Finland where people have hunting opportunities.
I talked with a Swiss citizen about 20 years ago, and he said everybody had guns. They were easy to get, and if you wanted machine guns, howitzers, or anti-aircraft guns they had to be registered with the government and the permit cost $5.
But that was 20 years ago. He said they were considering allowing women to vote, and I understand that passed in the interim.
‘Real’ hunting, for the most part, doesn’t exist in central Europe. You will have some guys who set up a platform for shooting deer and there will be some local hunts organized for wild boar, but it’s dying thing.
But, if you get up into the northern half of Finland....that’s like the jackpot...with bears and wolves still part of the landscape.
When Germany had that bear issue in 2006...they had to call upon real bear hunters, and the Finns were the one called for the task.
You mean they are white Europeans who will not let their culture be corrupted, ridiculed, or pushed aside. Smart.
Demographics accounts for the statistics. The murder rate among Norwegian-Americans is comparable to the murder rate in Norway.
Ya, don't ya luv the Lapua brass & Sakos.
Or Finland. They have a similar system.
“...Socialists and pacifists pushed hard to disarm the country...”
Not to mention they’re the same two subversive groups who are importing muslims into Switzerland.
It’s very expensive to hunt in Germany and Switzerland. You have to join a hunting club... memberships are not cheap. That said, you can own a gun in Germany... it has to be locked up..and yes, the government can come into your house and check. They can also check if you own more televisions than you have reported.
Euro hunters seem to go to Africa hunting a couple times a year, do it under 10 gran a trip; not for lions & elephants either. My nephew & buddy are going to Namibia nx June from Alaska and expect to do it for around 10K also. WE still have all kinds of public hunting land in Alaska, so killing a moose behind the house or on the river; or killing some caribou up on the summit during annual migration is part of our seasonal existence just like putting fish nets in for salmon during the summer run. We take it for granted actually. Sure hope my grandkids have the same hunting here that I do. Our biggest problem is the wolves & bear, just too many of them. I had a this years pup (wolf) walk up my lane at 5 am last week. I have buckets of salmon eggs buried in a hole behind the garden, for bear bait and the perma frost keeps them frozen all summer. That young wolf has been trying to dig into those eggs. I didn't shoot him, hope to get a few picts first. Also, of course we shoot every bear we see all summer long; not doing so they break in our houses. Bears figure pretty quick that theres better food inside houses than outside.
I've been here over 25 years from back east and they couldn't run me outta here, where I belong.
We may be more casual about it than the Swiss (and have a greater appreciation for handguns - the Swiss seem most appreciative of rifles, though that is starting to broaden), but I think your visitors were trying to downplay the similarities.
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