Metzler calls for tighter gun controls (Switzerland)

swissinfo ^ | 9-24-03 | unknown

[Redbob]

There are between one and three million guns in Switzerland, according to the justice minister, who described the situation as “worrying”.

A "Small Arms Survey" by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva found that there are 1.2 million guns in private hands in Switzerland.

Metzler said a central register would be a step towards increasing public security.

She said it would better distinguish people who own guns for hunting or special collections from those who misuse them.

Her comments came a week before the second anniversary of Switzerland’s worst-ever shooting spree.

On September 27, 2001 a lone gunman entered the cantonal parliament in Zug, near Zurich, and shot 14 people dead.

Gun reform

That incident prompted calls for Switzerland’s gun laws to be tightened. Currently, some 500,000 Swiss men are required to keep rifles at home as part of their responsibilities under the militia army system.

The militia system requires men above the age of 20 to be ready for a call to service. Soldiers also have the right to keep their rifles after they have been de-mobilised.

The Zug killer used a standard Swiss army-issue assault rifle – a 5,6 mm SIG “Sturmgewehr 90” – to kill his victims, before turning the weapon on himself.

Metzler told the German-language “SonntagsZeitung” that a consultation process on tightening Switzerland's gun laws after the Zug massacre did not comprehensively examine ways of reforming the gun laws.

She the process, which wrapped up at the end of 2002, did not investigate whether arms should be registered.

“That’s the reason why I have proposed creating a register which would have all the names of weapons in Switzerland,” explained Metzler.

Gun register

She said the consultation process had been dominated by the views of the cantons and weapons-related organisations.

Metzler said sectors which are indirectly concerned – like women’s and youth groups - should now be included in discussions.

The Swiss People’s Party, the Radical Party and the Swiss business federation, economiesuisse, have also asked the government to revise its arms reform project.

The measures under consultation included tighter controls on members of the public wishing to buy guns - both from licensed gun shops and private individuals - as well as a ban on imitation and soft air guns.

The gun lobby, Pro Tell, is firmly against any changes to the law, arguing that putting them into practice would mean too much bureaucracy.

It also says the state would have too much power to decide whether an individual should have the right to carry a gun.

swissinfo with agencies

[Redbob]

The concept of the nanny state spreads; there's always some stupah who thinks (s)he can solve all problems if only the right combination of laws are applied.

Go "Pro Tell"!

[Redbob]

Bang!

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

We didn't win the cold war, the commies did. They simply went underground and tunneled their way into power in every western government.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[Sender]

How can they make the leap of logic that to have "all the names" of gun owners would have prevented the Zug tragedy? Ridiculous and ineffective.

[The Great RJ]

I'm sure the number of gun deaths and particularly violent crimes using guns per thousand population in Switzerland is far lower than in countries like Australia and Britain that have instituted strong gun control/confication laws.

[Redbob]

From the header to that article; this got left out:

"The Swiss justice minister, Ruth Metzler, has called for stricter gun controls in order to boost public security.

In a newspaper interview, Metzler said all firearms should be centrally registered.

Ruth Metzler is an idiot.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Registration makes it convenient for collection...

[joesnuffy]

Had to search high and low to find a crime of "gun violence" in Switzerland...

The fact that there really arent many gun crimes in this society in its past
has to be due largely to its former relative isolation ,homogenous population, its natural bent towards conservatism ...and the fact everyone of age is in the military and keeps their weapons at home...they also practice with them regularly...

Of course being dragged into the 21st century and NWO wont help them one bit...in terms of quality of life...

Even they have their liberals dedicated to wrecking what was once good ...and replacing it with garbage...so naturally some have to show up and go after gun ownership of private citizens..
its the Globalist Govt way

[Steely Glint]

Of COURSE an armed citizenry worries prospective totalitarians. You can't institute tyranny if the pesky citizens have weapons, for Pete's sake; you just can't be a Hitler or a Stalin or a Castro if the citizenry is armed, because they'll see you dead first (and more power to them!).

An armed citizenry is a free citizenry, and the enemy of all tyranny. Prospective statist tyrants all over the world (especially those in our very own Democratic Party) know this and therefore fear the armed citizen.

As they should. We are all that keeps them honest...and ourselves free.

[jrp]

How can they make the leap of logic that to have "all the names" of gun owners would have prevented the Zug tragedy? Ridiculous and ineffective.

Liberals don't apply or understand logic. It's all about what sounds and feels good.

[Abe Froman]

Is the carrying of weapons permitted or prohibited in the Parliament in question???

I have a strong suspicion that it is designated a "gun free" zone.

[Ed Straker]

...a register which would have all the names of weapons in Switzerland...

My rifle's name is Anna. And I've got another one named Ulla...