Swiss parliament rejects national weapons database
Switzerland will not implement a national weapons database. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives rejected a parliamentary initiative calling for a national firearm register.
The House of Representatives reached its decision by 116 votes to 72 with three abstentions. The Social Democratic Party, Greens and Liberal Green Party voted in favour of the initiative, put forward by Green Party parliamentarian Marionna Schlatter. It is now off the table.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, some cantons have reported a massive increase in applications for a licence to purchase weapons, Schlatter explained her initiative proposal. Currently, the number of weapons in private households cannot be precisely quantified.
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With its rejection of the initiative, the House of Representatives followed the recommendation of the majority of its security policy committee. This committee was of the opinion that the existing network of cantonal registers was sufficient. A national register would not provide any additional security but would instead lead to duplication and more bureaucracy.
Adapted from German by DeepL/amva
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