Although Switzerland is one of the most gun-friendly countries in the world, there have been some misconceptions concerning the rules and regulations governing Swiss gun ownership. American "gun-shop legend" has it that in Switzerland every home is required to keep a well maintained fully-automatic battle rifle ready to go at a moment's notice and even that failure to maintain enough ammo in your possession will result in a fine from the authorities. However, this is not entirely accurate - at least not anymore. In this video, Rex discussed gun ownership in Switzerland with a participant of the Swiss shooting community. Although the shooting culture is very strong in Switzerland today, the laws governing private firearms ownership is more restrictive than many American gun writers make it sound
Swiss gun laws:
All healthy Swiss men aged between 18 and 34 are obliged to do military service and all are issued with assault rifles or pistols which they are supposed to keep at home.
Twenty years ago the Swiss militia was a sizeable force of around 600,000 soldiers. Today it is only a third of that size but until recently most former soldiers used to keep their guns after they had completed their military duties, leading to lots of weapons being stored in the attics or cupboards of private Swiss households.
Heavy machine guns and automatic weapons are banned, as are silencers
In most cases the buyer needs a weapon acquisition permit, issued by the cantonal police
This will be refused if the applicant has a criminal record, an addiction or a psychiatric problem
A special permit is needed to carry a gun in public - and is usually issued only to people who work in security, once they have passed theoretical and practical exams
Twenty-six thousand guns were sold legally in Switzerland in 2012 to sportsmen, hunters and collectors
I think when the American Founding Fathers made the laws, all they had to ward off invarders etc were Militia forces. These were required to be armed and ready to defend at all times. It's a bit different now with an Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Police forces etc etc. to do that job.
