The arms-bearing Swiss and EU gun laws
The Swiss have a long tradition of gun ownership. And they are not part of the EU.
However, the EU will get you one way or another. The Swiss are part of what’s known as the Schengen Area, in which people can travel without the old-fashioned restrictions of visas. Here’s the way it’s described:
Schengen Area, signifies a zone where 26 European countries, abolished their internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the common judicial system and police cooperation.
Schengen Area covers most of the EU countries, except the UK, Ireland and the countries that are soon to be part of: Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus. Although not members of the EU, countries like: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are also part of the Schengen zone.
It may have seemed like an innocuous thing to do way back when the idea was first being proposed. But it’s one of those foot-in-the-door phenomena that has meant that Schengen Area countries have had difficulty controlling entry by “migrants,” and now we see that gun control is part of the bargain as well, even for non-EU-member countries. The threat by the EU is to throw the non-complying country out of the Schengen Area, and thus hamper its tourism and perhaps a lot more.
Back in May (although I missed the news at the time) the Swiss voters opted for Schengen convenience over the right to bear arms, in one of those referendums we’ve heard so much about. In this case, the results of the referendum have stood, because the Swiss voted just the way the EU and their government wanted them to:
Almost 64% of voters in Sunday’s referendum supported tougher restrictions on semi-automatic and automatic weapons, final results show.
Switzerland is not an EU member, but risked removal from the open-border Schengen Area if it had voted “no”.
Nearly 48% of Swiss households own a gun – among the highest rates of private ownership in Europe.
The EU had urged the country to tighten its laws in line with rules adopted by the bloc following the 2015 Paris terror attacks.
The rules restrict semi-automatic and automatic rifles and make it easier to track weapons in national databases.
The EU’s initial proposal sparked criticism in Switzerland, because it meant a ban on the tradition of ex-soldiers keeping their assault rifles.
Swiss officials negotiated concessions, but some gun activists argued that the rules still encroached on citizens’ rights.
So, reading between those lines, my guess is that the proposal was sold on the strength of two things—to prevent terrorism (which seems highly unlikely to me; au contraire) and that it would be only a small change that wouldn’t affect too many people.
Till the next time. And the next.
I haven’t dug into this issue. But I am intrigued by the EU insisting on this – and even blackmailing the Swiss – because of a terror attack that happened in Paris. (I note in passing that France has very strict gun control indeed… which did not stop the Charlie Hebdo attackers from using actual automatic weapons.)
This is a little like Chicago, which has strict gun control and out-of-control gun violence, demanding similar laws in Vermont (which has relatively little gun control and relatively little gun violence).
I wish the Swiss good luck. I suspect this will not end well for them.
I also hope the British are paying attention – not to the gun-control issue, where they gave up long ago, but rather to how willing the EU is to strong-arm even non-members. It will be Britain’s turn soon enough.
The Swiss live with all sorts of restrictions on their everyday lives, from when they can play outdoor games to when they can run their laundry equipment. I’m surprised, a little, that they agreed to this one, though.
Daniel Schwartz:
Just as the left here uses terrorist attacks with guns as an excuse for gun control, so does the EU.
The Swiss used to be required to have weapons because everyone had served in the military. I don’t know how things have changed.
Kate, Are these nationwide? It used to be that the cantons had a lot of flexibility.
The Swiss militia system used to mean lots of people had guns in their homes as a service requirement. Will that change now?
expat, it may be canton by canton — as are taxes. My husband had an epic encounter with a Swiss policeman in Zurich who insisted that it was illegal for him to be playing basketball at a schoolyard hoop on Sunday morning. The hoop was nowhere near anyone’s windows. The policeman eventually gave up, shrugging about “crazy Americans,” after my husband politely invited him to play one on one.
It will be interesting to see how this situation works out for the Swiss. Along those lines the next couple of years will be interesting for gun owners in the USA too.
Spent a month in Switzerland back in 1996. Traveled mostly by train and on foot. It was common to see men in uniform with their military weapons on the trains and in restaurants. It was as acceptable as having a backpack or walking stick. I thought it spoke well of the Swiss that their soldiers travel to their posts with full kit on trains and busses alongside the civilians. It keeps the idea of citizen soldiers and universal service in the public consciousness.
The European Common Market was a good idea. Free trading and easy movement of people and goods around the continent. What’s not to like? Who thought that it would become a dictatorial entity? It appears that every Commie and Com-symp gravitated toward the organization – like metal shavings to a magnet. Now it’s insufferably overbearing.
If Britain succeeds in exiting, I believe several others will be tempted to do the same. If so, can the EU continue in its present form? We’ll see.
The difference here is that to keep and bear arms is a God given right.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that AMONG THESE are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Thus began this great nation. The first chapter concludes with what is titled “The Bill of Rights”, more properly known as “The Bill of God Given Unalienable Rights”.
2. A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
The enemies of a free and just civil society have poked their noses above the parapet. Perhaps they don’t recall the words attributed to Yamamoto in the film Tora! Tora! Tora! “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
It’s hard to find definitive reports, but the BBC said that the basic Schengen restrictions include:
A ban on weapons capable of rapidly firing multiple rounds [including repeaters & revolvers?]
Automatic and semi-automatic weapons to either be banned or heavily restricted
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Wikipedia says that the exemption carved out for Switzerland is:
“The Directive also includes an exemption covering a specific Swiss issue – it allows possession to a target shooter of one firearm used during the mandatory military period after leaving the army, provided it was converted to semi-automatic only …”
It’s almost funny. Only people registered as target shooting competitors are allowed. The Olympics must go on! The notion of self defense is to be dispensed with, as citizens should realize that they are chattel of the state.
One article said that one of the Italian cantons voted the referendum down, but they didn’t say what impact that had.
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The Bataclan massacre is a perfect argument against this sort of onerous gun control, and in fact the French/Parisian gov. was sued over their extremely slow response to the massacre.
The gov. response showed two things that we’ve seen here in the US also: 1) Two well trained cops entered the Bataclan on their own initiative and killed one of the terrorists. Then 2) the police bureaucrats got involved on the radio, and pulled those two cops out of the building, and they “organized” for perhaps 2 hours. Police lives will be protected at all costs.
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I thought that Switzerland’s primary drive to comply with this was economic and larger than just tourism. Apparently, that’s true but only slightly true. Here is Wikipedia on the “Schengen Area”
“Till the next time. And the next.” – Neo
This has been running around the ‘net for a long time, but here’s the original:
(at the end of the post)
https://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2010/09/ok-ill-play.html
“The difference here is that to keep and bear arms is a God given right.”
How can an imagined, non-existent entity… grant anything? That position is at the heart of the Left.
While liberals are too willfully blind to realize that without a transcendent entity to whom we are accountable for our actions, there is no basis whatsoever for having any ‘rights’.
Our ‘social credit score’ (obedience to the State) determining the privileges we are allowed…
TommyJay noted this development on the Nationhood Brexit thread.
I wondered if the Swiss voters were taking their referendum seriously, but not literally.
I suspect there will be a massive increase in shooting club memberships and gun collections. There would be in America. And how hard is it to go shooting once a year?
Another good reason Great Britain would be well out of the EU, assuming their own government will grow a spine on gun rights.
AesopFan caught some things I missed about Switzerland. I like this one,
“[there exists] a large but unknown number of privately held hunting rifles, as only weapons acquired since 2008 are registered.” Many of those will not be declared.
There is a large non-response to New Zealand’s gun buy-back so far as well.
The EU wants the Swiss to tighten up their gun laws? Every Swiss home has a machine gun and every Swiss retiree gets to keep theire petsalnal weapon.
How often do you hear about the Swiss crime poblem like Chicago?
The thing is for me I memorized the petty officer’s cutlass manual. The even weirder thing? I have a genuine naval cutlass and
now I know how that I memorized the cutlass manual and put in a few years of practice I know how to use it.
I find it extremely odd that it was ok to trust me in the back seat of an F14. With the mighty mighty AWG 9 radar and 6 six fire and forget AIM 54 Phoenix missiles. But now I can’t be trusted with an AR
Geneva gave the world Calvin and Rousseau, so let’s not feel too sorry for them.
The increased trade by Schengen, and no border controls of goods or persons, and just a little on capital, is really a lot of increase in trade and material well being. It’s a big part of the “gold” in the modern golden rule:
the one with gold,
makes the rules.
The eurocrats like making the rules, and spreading the gold to their friends, those who support more EU rules and more gold spreading to friends of the EU.
It’s sad that Switzerland is complying, but it’s bad that the EU commission is pushing on this issue. But it’s part of the common elitist desire to take power away from normals — for their own good.
Steve57,
A long time ago I attended the wedding of a Canadian Naval officer. The bride and groom exited the church under a “roof” of raised and crossed navy cutlasses. It was quite a sight with the sunlight glinting off of those highly polished swords, and quite a throwback to an earlier time.
Caedmon on September 13, 2019 at 3:45 am said:
Geneva gave the world Calvin and Rousseau, so let’s not feel too sorry for them.
* * *
Too bad they weren’t also responsible for Hobbes.
The cartoons would write themselves.