In Switzerland, gun ownership is high but Posted on 08/11/2019 12:08:30 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Swiss gun ownership remains fairly high for Europe — there are about 27.5 guns for every 100 people in Switzerland — Pro-gun advocates in the U.S. often point to Switzerland to prove that high gun ownership doesn't necessarily mean high gun deaths.
Where Switzerland does shine - is in its low number of mass shootings. It hasn't had one since 2001, when a man raided the local government body in Zug, killing 14 people before himself. This said, there are a few factors that may play into their lower rates of mass shootings.
First, Switzerland has mandatory military service for able-bodied adult men, and women may volunteer for military service as well. Mandatory conscription is actually extremely popular in Switzerland, with 73 percent of Swiss citizens voting against a referendum to abolish the practice. After their military service, the Swiss are kept in reserve until age 30–34, if they were an officer — during which time they must keep their service weapon. As a result, many Swiss people own firearms and are highly trained in their use by default. In contrast, if a U.S. citizen lives in a particularly permissive state, they can buy a gun without any kind of training whatsoever.
Furthermore, Swiss civilians must demonstrate that they are physically, intellectually, and mentally capable prior to conscription in the army (source in French). While this is a requirement for service in the U.S. military, it is not required for gun ownership in many states in America. Since many Swiss citizens obtain their weapons through the military, this acts as a major avenue by which gun owners' capability can be verified.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigthink.com ...
It’s also full of mainly Swiss people.
Because they aren’t constantly being driven insane by 24/7 mass mind control news channels and/ or lunatic leftist teachers would be my guess.
The problem arises when insane people are in charge of deciding who is sane enough to own a weapon...
Switzerland, the most armed, and polite, society
They don’t let feral yutes have rifles?
They don’t have any MK Ultra program?
Arguments that Swiss gun owners are well vetted by their military service seem rather irrelevant since about 81-89% of those who commit gun crimes in the US did not purchase their weapons legally—thus what good does vetting for a legal purchase do anyway? Whatever the problem is, it has to do with why there are crooks who want to get their hands on a fire-arm and commit crime with it and not anything to do with vetting legal purchase of fire arms.
What the gun laws do in Switzerland, in a way, is the same kind of thing that they do in Japan, which is to reinforce the existing social order. The laws help integrate people into the larger world of the community. That is one of the most important functions of the militia, and why the Swiss are resistant to abolishing the militia, even though, with the end of the cold war, there is no realistic threat to national security. The Swiss want to keep the militia as a very important socializing institution in the nation. Marksmanship is one of the things that brings the generations together. Dad will clean the rifle at the kitchen table and take Junior shooting at the target range. That is one of the things that keeps Junior happily occupied with the family as opposed to getting in trouble. What I think Switzerland and Japan collectively suggest is that the issue is, not how many guns are there in the society but, how guns are viewed in the society and how they fit into the overall system of socializing individuals in the society.
In other words, guns in Switzerland help reinforce the collectivism in their culture, while guns in America help reinforce the individualism in our culture. A gun in Switzerland helps people identify with being part of the collective Swiss culture. A gun in America helps people identify with being part of the individualist American culture.
Kopel's book is worth it's weight in gold.
Culture matters.
Britain is an even better example.
Before 1919 there was for all intents and purposes no gun control at all. Machine guns, cannons etc. could be purchased by anyone. At the same time they had almost no crime at all. I mean very near zero armed robberies.
Now they have extreme gun control and among the highest crime rates of all first world nations.
“... about 81-89% of those who commit gun crimes in the US did not purchase their weapons legally...” Thus the need for more background checks for law abidin.............. Oh?!
Their govt doesn’t do false flag shootings in order to try to outlaw guns.
“It’s also full of mainly Swiss people.”
The essential fact.
US has 40 times the population.
One there is equivalent to 40 here.
In Switzerland, gun ownership is high but “Diversity ain’t our strength”
White? Homogeneous? Very strict immigration laws that are enforced? Christian? A feeling of belonging to a great society and a responsibility to keep it that way for your children?
My Swiss buddy said at one time everyone who was of age was required to have a gun at home in case the militia was required. Those like him considered this a fringe benefit and even used these gun for other purposes. Those who were anti-gun broke the guns down and kept the pieces in different parts of the house, so they were in compliance with the law but no one could accidentally find and use their gun.
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