Swiss Voters Give into E.U. Demands, Abandon Firearm Sanity

Switzerland long has been a conundrum for anti-gun liberals. It has a very high rate of firearms ownership, yet a very low rate of firearms violence.

At least two very good reasons explain why the Swiss have had relatively few problems with firearms violence. One is a very well-trained civilian population in which most men receive military training in state-run militia units.

The other is a long history of hunting and target-shooting. In other words, the Swiss live much like many rural U.S. citizens live now, and how many U.S. citizens lived just a couple decades ago.

Currently, young men in Switzerland attend regular militia training. The training is similar to that many volunteers in the United States choose to receive and maintain via the National Guard and military reserve units.

The Swill military even equips those young men with true assault rifles – ones with selective fire capability to enable fully automatic fire. That rifle is the SIG SG 550, which has been in production since 1986, fires the 5.56×45 mm round, and accepts high-capacity magazines. Military Today refers to it as “one of the finest 5.56 mm assault rifles ever made.”

Despite such militarized equipment in the hands of up to a third of the nation’s 8 million citizens, Switzerland does not have a problem with firearms violence. About the only problem anti-gun liberals can find with Switzerland is a high suicide rate involving firearms.

The Swiss are a truly problematic issue for anti-gun liberals, but recently made the mistake of adopting laws many anti-gun liberals in the U.S. favor here. Previously, Swiss law required citizens to be over age 18, have no criminal record, and have an ID card. Various firearms, though, are regulated differently, much like in the United States.

The new law in Switzerland bans high-capacity magazines. It also requires recreational shooters to prove they go to the shooting range on a regular basis in order to maintain an authorization to possess firearms.

In the United States, such a law could be argued as too restrictive to enable Second Amendment rights. After all, those living in many large cities do not have ready access to shooting ranges.

It certainly is commendable to ensure those who own firearms are well-versed in their use and proper gun safety. Yet, the Swiss already have a well-trained group of civilians who fully embrace gun ownership and practice gun safety. They do not have a problem with firearms violence, and suicide by firearm is the only real issue liberals claim might be aided by more restrictive gun laws.

But, that is not the new law’s aim.

Supposedly, the new law, as proposed by the EU, is designed to thwart terrorist acts. Yet, Switzerland has no issues with terrorism occurring, or even mass shootings.

Switzerland isn’t even a member of the EU. It just abided the EU’s invasive effort to bring the Swiss in line with laws supposedly designed to prevent attacks like those that occurred in Paris in January 2015.

Some of those terrorists used firearms. Some used bombs. They claimed 17 lives. The attacks were committed by fanatical Muslims who had no connection to the Swiss. Reports do not even suggest how all of the Islamic terrorists obtained their firearms.

Yet, somehow, forcing the Swiss to abide by a law designed to thwart terror attacks that have never happened in Switzerland is supposed to be progress, rather than blatantly bad policy.

The Swiss now essentially must register their firearms and very well could be on their way to surrendering their military-style rifles that do not function nearly as well as the assault rifles the Swiss government issues to males from ages 18 to 34.

The Swiss foolishly abided the EU’s overt efforts to erode firearms ownership in one of the most peaceful nations on Earth.

Similar tactics are in play in the United States. States run by liberals, like Illinois and California, claim loose gun laws in neighboring states leads to firearms violence in their state.  Thankfully, the Second Amendment stands in the way of them enacting nationwide gun control– so far.