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Switzerland has not had a mass shooting in 21 years.
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in the United States, almost every day,recently Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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The Swiss have strict rules about who can get a gun and take firearms training very seriously.
Switzerland has not had a mass shooting since 2001, when a man attacked the local parliament in Zug, killing 14 people and then himself.
The country has about 2 million privately owned guns in a country of 8.3 million people. In 2016, he had 47 attempted murders with a firearm in the country. The country’s overall murder rate is near zero.
National Rifle Association often refers to Switzerland He argues that no more rules about gun ownership are needed. In 2016, the NRA said on the blog The European country has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, yet still has millions of privately owned guns and some hunting weapons that don’t even require a permit.
However, the Swiss have some specific rules and regulations regarding gun use.
An insider looked at the country’s gun history to see why it has a lower rate of gun violence than the United States after a mass shooting that killed five people and injured 25. At an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Coloradothe gun mortality rate is now is the climax over 20 years, and Leading cause of death in children and adolescents.
Switzerland is obsessed with getting the shot right. Every year from age 13 she hosts a shooting contest for children up to age 17.
Knabenthiessen in Zurich annual traditional festival It dates back to the 1600s.
The term loosely translates to ‘boy shooting’ and was once a male-only sport, but since 1991 teenage girls have been allowed to participate.
Every September, Swiss children gather at this competition to compete in target shooting with Swiss Army rifles. They take pride in how well they shoot.
The competition emphasizes accuracy above all else, and officials crown the Schützenkoenig (King or Queen of Archers) based on the results.
Armed citizens have allowed Switzerland to remain neutral for over 200 years.
The Swiss stance is “armed neutrality.”
Although Switzerland has not participated in an international armed conflict since 1815, some Swiss soldiers support peacekeeping operations around the world.
Many Swiss consider gun ownership part of society. patriotic duty to protect the motherland.
Most Swiss men need to learn how to use a gun.
Unlike America, Switzerland mandatory military service for men.
The government gives all men between the ages of 18 and 34 who are deemed “fit for military service” a pistol or rifle and trains them in how to use it.
After they have served, men usually Purchase and store service weaponsbut they need to get permission.
In recent years, the Swiss government has reduce size of the country’s armed forces.
Switzerland is like a well-designed fort.
Swiss borders are basically Designed to explode on commandthere are at least 3,000 demolition points on bridges, roads, rails and tunnels around landlocked European countries.
John McPhee said in his book “La Place de la Concorde Suisse”:
“Near the German border in Switzerland, all railroad and highway tunnels are being prepared for an explosive pinch closure. It fits inside.”
About a quarter of Swiss gun owners use their weapons in military or police duty.
In 2000, more than 25% of Swiss gun owners said they kept their weapons for military or police duty. Less than 5% of Americans said the same thing.
In addition to militia weapons, the country has about 2 million privately owned guns, a figure that has plummeted over the past decade.
The Swiss government about half 50% of privately owned firearms in the country are ex-service rifles. But there are signs that Switzerland’s gun-to-human ratio is declining.
In 2007, small arms survey Switzerland was found to have the third highest ratio of civilian guns per 100 inhabitants (46), behind the United States (89) and Yemen (55).
However, that number appears to have declined over the past decade. The University of Sydney is now That means there is about one civilian gun for every three Swiss.
Gun dealers follow strict licensing procedures.
Swiss authorities decide at the local level whether to give people a gun license. They also keep a log of everyone who owns a gun in an area called Canton, even though they use hunting rifles and semi-automatic long guns. exempted from permit requirements.
State police don’t take gun licenses lightly.they might consult a psychiatrist Or talk to authorities in other states where prospective gun buyers lived scrutinize the person.
Swiss law is designed to prohibit violent or incompetent people from owning guns.
a person convicted of a crime or addicted to alcohol or drugs Not allowed to buy guns of Switzerland.
of the law also says People who “exhibit violent or dangerous behavior” are not allowed to own guns.
Gun owners who want to carry weapons for “defensive purposes” have to prove They must be able to properly load, unload and shoot their weapons and must pass a test to be licensed.
Switzerland is also one of the richest, healthiest and in some ways the happiest countries in the world.
their 2019 World Happiness Reportthe United Nations ranked Switzerland sixth.
The Swiss are consistently near the top of this list.of 2017When the United Nations ranked Switzerland fourth overall among the world’s nations, the authors of the report noted that the country “all the main factors known to underpin well-being: compassion, freedom and generosity.” He pointed out that people tend to fare well on “virtue, integrity, health, income, and good governance.”
Meanwhile, reports show that happiness levels have plummeted in the United States over the past decade.
The authors of the report cites “declining social support and increasing corruption,” as well as addiction and fall depression.
The Swiss are not perfect when it comes to guns.
switzerland still One of the highest rates of gun violence Suicide accounts for the majority of gun deaths in Europe.
All over the world, stricter gun control has led to fewer gun deaths. So did Switzerland.
Switzerland, which has left gun control decisions to local cantons for hundreds of years, passed its first gun control. federal regulation In 1999, after the country’s crime rate rose in the 1990s,
Since then, The government added more provisions To keep the country on par with EU gun laws and reduce gun deaths — including suicide — continues to fall.
As of 2015, Swiss estimate Only about 11% of citizens kept military-issued guns at home.
Most people in Switzerland are not allowed to carry guns.
Mobile permits are difficult to obtain in Switzerland and most people do not have them except for security guards and police.
“We have guns at home, but we keep them for peaceful purposes,” said Martin Kyrias, a professor of criminology at the University of Zurich. told the BBC in 2013“In Switzerland it is illegal to carry a gun in the street, so there is no point in taking it out of the house.”
It’s almost true.hunters and sports shooters allow transportation Their guns only carry them from their homes to the range. You can’t stop for coffee with a rifle.
You can’t even load guns in transit to prevent accidental firing in places like Starbucks. Happened in the United States at least twice.
Read the original article at business insider