Government sets its sights on gun law
The government wants to revise Switzerland's gun laws one year on from the worst-ever shooting spree in which a gunman killed 14 people in Zug.
It has opened consultations on a series of measures to tighten control over gun sales and ownership.
But critics say that the revisions do not go far enough and fail to address the fundamental problem of widespread private ownership of guns.
The measures, which are in the consultation process until the end of the year, include tighter controls on members of the public wishing to buy guns from licensed gun shops and private individuals, as well as a ban on imitation and soft air guns.
It would also be forbidden to sell arms though the Internet or newspaper advertisements, and the possession of dangerous objects such as baseball bats in public places would be outlawed.
But although a permit would be needed to buy a gun, Swiss men would still be allowed to bring their rifles home after leaving the army and in between periods of active service.
Self defence
The proposal has been criticised by some for not going far enough towards preventing another massacre like the one in Zug because it does not tackle what they believe is the essential issue: the right to keep a gun at home.
The tradition of having weapons at home stems from the long-held notion that if Switzerland is invaded, every reservist could be called up, armed and ready to defend the country.
About 500,000 Swiss keep a rifle at home, mainly because the militia system requires men over 20 to be ready for military service.
Soldiers who have been demobilised have the right to keep their rifles for annual summer shooting practices held in nearly every Swiss town and village.
Army guns
The gunman who ran amok in Zug, Friedrich Leibacher, used a Swiss army-issue assault rifle – a 5,6 mm SIG “Strumgewahr 90” – to kill his victims.
Social Democrat parliamentarian, Paul Günter, thinks any revision of the gun law should ban Swiss soldiers from taking their guns home when they leave active service.
“What in Zug was really bad was that this man had an assault rifle and this sort of rifle will be restricted in future,” Günter told swissinfo.
“But one of the problems which is not solved in the new proposal is that up till now the soldiers of the Swiss army, which is every man, could keep their own gun when they left the army. And those who are coming out now have an assault rifle.”
No link
But the gun lobby, Pro Tell, is firmly against any changes to the law, arguing that putting them into practice would mean too much red tape.
It also says the state would have too much power to decide whether an individual should have the right to carry a gun.
Ferdinand Hediger, a spokesman for Pro Tell, says there is no need to reform the 1999 gun law and maintains that it is impossible to make a direct link between the Zug shootings and the country’s liberal gun laws.
“With all the military weapons that are given to the soldier when he quits army service, there are many guns scattered all over Switzerland,” said Hediger.
“We have hundreds and thousands of guns around and yet the crime rate is among the lowest in Europe. Whereas in countries like Italy, they have much tighter gun laws and they still have a much higher crime rate.”
“So it cannot be linked together. There are so many factors that lead to increased crime that have nothing to do with the gun law.”
Right direction
The strength of feeling on both sides may explain why Switzerland has not rushed to change its gun laws since the Zug killings.
But for Günter the proposed revision is at least a first step in the right direction.
“I think that times have changed. But the reason that it moves so slowly in Switzerland is that the right to have a gun at home is a very long tradition in our history.”
swissinfo, Isobel Johnson
A 1999 law regulates the sale and licensing of private guns.
500,000 men have a gun at home in Switzerland.
350,000 firearms are kept by demobilised soldiers for summer shooting practices.
Last year 47 homicides were recorded and police say in all cases privately owned firearms were involved.
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