Posted on 11/28/2010 3:17:06 PM PST by markomalley
Swiss voters on Sunday approved a plan to automatically deport foreigners who commit serious crimes or benefit fraud, in a significant victory for the nationalist party that pushed the proposal against the will of the government.
Some 52.9 percent of voters backed the proposal put forward by the nationalist Swiss People's Party. The plan was opposed by 47.1 percent of voters.
A government-backed counterproposal failed. It would have required case-by-case review by a judge before an individual was deported.
The government will now have to draft a law requiring automatic expulsion of foreigners found guilty of crimes such as murder, rape, drug dealing or benefit fraud.
"The majority of voters have sent a clear signal that they consider foreign criminality to be a serious problem," Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said in a statement. "The Federal Council respects the will of the people and will set to work on putting the task confided in it into practice."
Under Switzerland's unique political system, any group wanting to change the law can collect 100,000 signatures to force a referendum. Last year the country drew international condemnation after voters defied a government recommendation and approved a law to ban the construction of minarets.
Concern about a perceived rise in crime led a majority of voters to approve the deportation plan in Sunday's referendum.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Wonder what the split was in terms of men/women?
And I love their rifles.
I wonder how difficult it is to learn Swiss.
There’s an article in the FR archives about a guy with a long criminal rap deported to Trinidad. MSM ran a sob story on his plight.
I have an 1889, a 89/11, and a couple of K-31s. I think the 1911 was the most elegant of them, but the K-31s are very nice. The 7.5mm Swiss is also a fantastic cartridge. It took the US almost 60 years to catch up.
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