3/25/2007

Move by left to strengthen gun control laws in Switzerland

First realize that Switzerland has one of the lowest murder rates in Europe. Yet, why is it that there is a move to increase gun control in Switzerland but not a move to eliminate gun control in neighboring countries with higher murder rates? Overall, this article shows how much people are motivated by annecdotal examples and don't take other indirect effects into account. In the article below, a murder with a military weapon, an extremely rare event in Switzerland, is used to motivate a massive change in gun laws, but what about something on the otherside? What about the fact that possibly Switzerland has a low crime rate because people have guns to defend themselves? Probably people see the crimes and don't see the defensive uses and certainly can't anticipate the crimes that might take place in the future if people can't defend themselves.

The Swiss can keep their army guns at home - for the time being.

Pacifists and centre-left parties want voters to have the final say on breaking with a long-standing Swiss tradition of storing personal army rifles and pistols at home.

They said they would launch a people's initiative to ban such weapons in households. The announcement came a day after parliament refused to take action over the issue.

Supporters of the ban are expected to launch a bid to collect the necessary signatures for the vote within the next few months.

The House of Representatives on Thursday threw out a proposal by the Social Democrats and the Greens to tighten the gun law, including having a central arms register.

"Firearms are the biggest security risk in the country," said Green parliamentarian Jo Lang, while the Social Democrat, Boris Banga, argued that current regulations on standard issue firearms were outdated.

His party colleague Chantal Galladé added a personal aspect to the debate. "I was 11 when my father committed suicide with an army gun."

Other speakers pointed out the latest case of murder committed with such weapons – a man shot his girlfriend in southeastern Switzerland earlier this week. . . . .

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