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Safety in Numbers
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Safety in Numbers
Switzerland proves that guns and peace can mix
By HELENA BACHMANN/Geneva
When a disgruntled citizen, Friedrich Leibacher, opened fire with an assault rifle inside the chamber of the regional parliament in Zug in September 2001, killing 14 and injuring 14 others, the incident sent shockwaves through a nation unaccustomed to crime and violence. But there's a paradox in this peaceful and safety-conscious country, which boasts one of Europe's lowest crime rates: firearms are as ubiquitous here as chocolate and edelweiss.
Weapons and ammunition are routinely issued to, and kept at home by, Swiss men aged between 20 and 42 for their military service. The idea of having guns at home is tied to the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland fairly quickly, so every reservist had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly point.
Today, in a country of 7.3 million people, 465,000 households have a military-issue weapon. In addition, 350,000 firearms are kept by demobilized soldiers for summer shooting practices held in nearly every Swiss town and village. Another 500,000 guns are in civilian hands. Although some statistics show Switzerland's rate of gun-related deaths is higher than that of neighbors Germany, France and Austria, the number of murders is still low compared to the staggering number of firearms in the country. Last year 47 homicides were recorded - up from only 40 in 2000 - and police say in all cases privately owned firearms were involved.
A 1999 law regulates the sale and licensing of private guns, but the Zug shooting triggered a debate about the need for stricter measures. The federal parliament will discuss the issue later this year. The wisdom of allowing soldiers to keep their rifles at home is also being questioned by left-wing parties. But Defense Department spokesman Philippe Zahno says it's unlikely that the 500-year-old tradition of "a gun in every closet" will die out anytime soon. "It has been a part of our patriotic spirit," he says, "and we take pride in knowing that we are always ready and willing to defend our country."
How is it that gun violence is relatively rare in Switzerland? "Our attitude to guns is different from that in many other countries," Heinrich Koller, head of the Federal Office of Justice, said after the Zug shooting. "We don't have a frontier mentality." Adds Zahno: "Since guns have always been a part of our culture, we have learned to use them wisely." http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/0513/guns/swiss.html
Edited by - Josey1 on 05/09/2002 08:50:17
Switzerland proves that guns and peace can mix
By HELENA BACHMANN/Geneva
When a disgruntled citizen, Friedrich Leibacher, opened fire with an assault rifle inside the chamber of the regional parliament in Zug in September 2001, killing 14 and injuring 14 others, the incident sent shockwaves through a nation unaccustomed to crime and violence. But there's a paradox in this peaceful and safety-conscious country, which boasts one of Europe's lowest crime rates: firearms are as ubiquitous here as chocolate and edelweiss.
Weapons and ammunition are routinely issued to, and kept at home by, Swiss men aged between 20 and 42 for their military service. The idea of having guns at home is tied to the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland fairly quickly, so every reservist had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly point.
Today, in a country of 7.3 million people, 465,000 households have a military-issue weapon. In addition, 350,000 firearms are kept by demobilized soldiers for summer shooting practices held in nearly every Swiss town and village. Another 500,000 guns are in civilian hands. Although some statistics show Switzerland's rate of gun-related deaths is higher than that of neighbors Germany, France and Austria, the number of murders is still low compared to the staggering number of firearms in the country. Last year 47 homicides were recorded - up from only 40 in 2000 - and police say in all cases privately owned firearms were involved.
A 1999 law regulates the sale and licensing of private guns, but the Zug shooting triggered a debate about the need for stricter measures. The federal parliament will discuss the issue later this year. The wisdom of allowing soldiers to keep their rifles at home is also being questioned by left-wing parties. But Defense Department spokesman Philippe Zahno says it's unlikely that the 500-year-old tradition of "a gun in every closet" will die out anytime soon. "It has been a part of our patriotic spirit," he says, "and we take pride in knowing that we are always ready and willing to defend our country."
How is it that gun violence is relatively rare in Switzerland? "Our attitude to guns is different from that in many other countries," Heinrich Koller, head of the Federal Office of Justice, said after the Zug shooting. "We don't have a frontier mentality." Adds Zahno: "Since guns have always been a part of our culture, we have learned to use them wisely." http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/0513/guns/swiss.html
Edited by - Josey1 on 05/09/2002 08:50:17