The significant differences between the U.S. and Switzerland re: Guns [View all]

[Dog Gone at Penigma]

The Swiss for example do not have open or concealed carry.

When their military sends guns home with their members, they do NOT include ammunition; those guns in the home are kept unloaded.

In Switzerland, guns in the home have declined, while private gun ownership has been responsible for an increase in domestic homicides, almost exclusively homicides of women.

There are except for the most superficial statistics almost NO valid comparisons between the Swiss and the U.S.

Similarly, gun laws and practices in Israel, the other country most suggested as posing desirable gun practices and laws, have very little private gun ownership, but lots and lots of military guns being carried, which makes comparisons of guns in schools and other comparisons not really very useful or valid.

Here is an interesting comparison / contrast article from the International Business Times:


"Switzerland has gotten its gun control legislation more in line with European standards," explained Killias, in order to meet regulatory pre-requisites for joining the Schengen Zone, which allows for easier trade and travel between member countries.

"As a result, the number of Swiss households with guns has gone down substantially in recent years." Today, many soldiers elect not to keep the guns they are issued during their military service.

More background checks have been put into place, and it has been made illegal to carry guns in public. Furthermore, it was decided in 2007 that government-issued guns would not come with ammunition; that is now stored in centralized arsenals, outside the home, for emergency use. So, as military spending goes down and personal firearm regulations intensify, guns in Switzerland are more frequently seen as tools for national -- not personal -- defense.

Hitting the Target

Given the different roles of firearms in Swiss and U.S. society, it is apparent that any comparison regarding the correlation between firearm ownership and crime rates is muddled by countless other factors. The Swiss have guns and are trained to operate them, but they don't always have ammo and -- most importantly of all -- have little to fight about.