Swiss voters reject tighter gun controls in referendum
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
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VOTERS in Switzerland came out strongly in favor of their right to bear arms yesterday, with a clear majority rejecting a plan by churches and women's groups to tighten the Alpine nation's liberal gun laws.
Official results showed more than half of Switzerland's 26 cantons (states) voted against the proposal to ban army rifles from homes and impose new requirements for buying other guns.
"This is an important sign of -confidence in our soldiers," said Pius Segmueller, a lawmaker and former commander of the Vatican's Swiss Guard.
The proposal would have abruptly ended the Swiss tradition of men keeping their army rifles at home - even after completing their military service. Backers of the plan argued this would have reduced incidents of domestic violence and Switzerland's high rate of firearms suicide.
The government had argued ahead of the vote that existing laws were sufficient to ensure some 2.3 -million mostly military weapons in a country of less than 8 million people aren't misused.
Opposition against the proposal was strongest in rural and German-speaking parts of the country, which tend to be more conservative and where shooting clubs are popular.
French-speaking cantons in western Switzerland backed the plan, but woman and young people - who according to opinion polls favor more restrictive gun laws - failed to turn out in sufficient numbers when it counted.
"Women in Switzerland have only had the vote for 40 years, and yet they aren't engaging in politics, even when the issue concerns them," said Martine Brunschwig-Graf, a national lawmaker.
Doctors, churches and women's groups launched a campaign four years ago to force ex-soldiers to store their military-issued firearms in secure army depots. They also want the Swiss government to establish a national gun registry and ban the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump action rifles.
Gun enthusiasts say limiting the right to bear arms in the land of William Tell would have harmed tradition and undermined the citizen army's preparedness against invasion.
Advocates for tighter gun control noted that since Switzerland cut the size of its army in 2004, the number of firearms suicides among men aged 30-40 has been cut in half.
Official results showed more than half of Switzerland's 26 cantons (states) voted against the proposal to ban army rifles from homes and impose new requirements for buying other guns.
"This is an important sign of -confidence in our soldiers," said Pius Segmueller, a lawmaker and former commander of the Vatican's Swiss Guard.
The proposal would have abruptly ended the Swiss tradition of men keeping their army rifles at home - even after completing their military service. Backers of the plan argued this would have reduced incidents of domestic violence and Switzerland's high rate of firearms suicide.
The government had argued ahead of the vote that existing laws were sufficient to ensure some 2.3 -million mostly military weapons in a country of less than 8 million people aren't misused.
Opposition against the proposal was strongest in rural and German-speaking parts of the country, which tend to be more conservative and where shooting clubs are popular.
French-speaking cantons in western Switzerland backed the plan, but woman and young people - who according to opinion polls favor more restrictive gun laws - failed to turn out in sufficient numbers when it counted.
"Women in Switzerland have only had the vote for 40 years, and yet they aren't engaging in politics, even when the issue concerns them," said Martine Brunschwig-Graf, a national lawmaker.
Doctors, churches and women's groups launched a campaign four years ago to force ex-soldiers to store their military-issued firearms in secure army depots. They also want the Swiss government to establish a national gun registry and ban the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump action rifles.
Gun enthusiasts say limiting the right to bear arms in the land of William Tell would have harmed tradition and undermined the citizen army's preparedness against invasion.
Advocates for tighter gun control noted that since Switzerland cut the size of its army in 2004, the number of firearms suicides among men aged 30-40 has been cut in half.
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