Brussels, Guns, and Switzerland

With the exception of the United States, Switzerland is the Western nation with the strongest tradition of gun rights. The Confoederatio Helvetica has survived for all these centuries by requiring universal military service, and by affirming the right of Swiss citizens to keep and bear arms.

The European Union wants to change all that. Gun ownership as allowed in Switzerland runs contrary to EU laws on the prevention of terrorism. Although Switzerland is not a member state of the EU, it is a signatory of treaties that require it to “harmonize” its laws with those of the EU in certain categories.

One of those categories is firearms. Below are two articles about Brussels’ assault on Swiss gun ownership, as translated by Ava Lon. First, from the Swiss news organ 24 heures:

The European Union wants to disarm Switzerland

Brussels will toughen its laws on firearms, including introducing psychological and medical tests for holders.

The EU wants to tighten its laws on firearms. The first sketches of Directive 91/477 forced Simonetta Sommaruga [Swiss Federal Councilor, a socialist] to visit Brussels in mid-June, to plead that Swiss citizens be allowed to keep their service weapons at home.[Switzerland is NOT part of the EU]

If this derogation is accepted for now, it will be accompanied by many other obligations, such as psychological and medical tests, said the Basler Zeitung in its issue of August 24.

It is supposed to demonstrate that gun owners are not a danger to society and must be supervised.[do you see the contradiction? they are safe, but must be closely watched. — translator] Therefore 133,000 people will be compelled to do that: members of shooting clubs, but also hunters, collectors or those who possess weapons without being part of a society.

The anti-terrorist law in the European Union already requires gun owners to pass such tests every five years.

Fear of referendum

Switzerland, a member of the Schengen area, has committed to automatically apply European law. Berne will therefore have to adapt its legislation, which could be the subject of a referendum. If not, the vote could result in the application of the Schengen-Dublin agreement.

It is to avoid this disaster scenario that Simonetta Sommaruga’s services were activated in June in Brussels for the service weapons to be excluded from the directive. The other obligations will also make the Swiss cringe…

The Fass 57 threatened [Swiss army riffle]

The terrorist attacks that shook Europe in recent years explain this tougher legislation, but the European Union has had to recognize that none of them had been committed by legally purchased and possessed weapons. [Editor’s note: The weapons did not commit the crimes. Those who used the weapons did.]

Switzerland could be obligated to destroy hundreds of thousands of weapons and neutralize them. The EU has in its sights rifles with magazines of over 20 shots with guns and stores of more than ten rounds. The assault rifle 57 is particularly threatened with its original magazine of 24 cartridges.

The directive is currently being processed by Brussels. But it is clear that if it were to pass as-is, anyone not in active service or who is not a member of a shooting club will no longer have the right to own a firearm.

Also from 24 heures:

The chairmanship of Pro Tell is gutted

Swiss President Willy Pfund denounced a coup within the association Pro Tell, the gun lobby. He resigned with immediate effect.

Pro Tell defines itself as “the company for a liberal law on weapons.” Its voice weighs in about each proposed policy on weapons. But there is now fire at the top, writes the Tages-Anzeiger in its edition of 12 September.

Its chairman Willy Pfund, 77, resigned Wednesday with immediate effect “for personal reasons”, said Pro Tell on Friday. He’ll be temporarily replaced by Vice-President Werner Hohler, until the General Assembly in early 2017 is able to appoint a new president.

An autocratic management style

The president’s departure did not develop in serenity, as shown in his email dated August 29 sent to the presidency. Willy Pfund denounced a decision that day that suspended him from office with immediate effect, due to a management style deemed autocratic and a lack of communication.

The president described the process as a “putsch contrary to the statutes, and disrespectful” to the person and work for Pro Tell. “I am upset. Trust is broken in every respect.”

Schengen in the viewfinder

Pro Tell does not want to comment on the resignation of its chairman. “We agreed to remain silent,” said interim President Werner Hohler. This departure will change nothing with the organization. “We will continue in the future to fight for a liberal law concerning arms.”

Pro Tell is focusing on the next big battle ahead, one that is particularly close to its heart: the tightening of legislation coming to Switzerland in the wake of what is being prepared in Brussels.

The strong lobby of 8,500 members and many federations may fight the Schengen Agreement if the Commission were to require that Bern have all gun owners in Switzerland submit to regular inspections. Pro Tell doesn’t want that.

21 thoughts on “Brussels, Guns, and Switzerland

  1. If the Swiss fall for this nonsense, they will be crazier than a gum-digger’s dog!
    Each day I hope so desperately for some European country to have the intestinal fortitude to tell the EU gang what to do with themselves–and every day I am disappointed!

      • Has the Brexit happened yet?
        Voting for it was one thing, but it hasn’t happened yet, and won’t if May has her way.
        As Churchill said:
        “We are with Europe, but not of it”.

  2. It’s not just Switzerland.
    After the terror attacks in France, only a couple of days later the EU declared that they are preparing a new, draconian directive on private gun ownership, in an effort to stop terrorism. (Yes. Really.) It caused a storm across Europe, when gun owners realized that their prized guns were about to get banned on a massively wide scale. Ever since then, gun lobbyists, enlightened members of parliament, some governments of more pro-gun states, and hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens have fought this directive in a seemingly everlasting battle against the gungrabbers’ completely irrational demands. The end, or the result, of this fight is not yet in sight.

    Personally, I own ten guns, most of them of the evil, black kind. This new directive would ban nine out of those ten guns, leaving me with just one rifle, a 75 year old ww2 relic. This would destroy my hobby, my lifestyle, my personal security and cause me a massive financial loss. Practically all gun owners that I personally know, would face something similar. The attitude on this looming EU-wide gun confiscation is pretty much “good luck with that, I ain’t giving up mine”.

    The EU is facing an existential threat, from terrorism, islamic expansion, rising desire to leave the Union, and financial ruin. And they want to take our guns away. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

    • I think you’re being too optimistic.

      The Australian gun ban of 1996 achieved all its objectives: totally disarm the population, destroyed almost all antiques and collectible guns, and made any sort of gun ownership illegal for many years.

      You now can own a .22 with a permit, as long as it is locked in a vault, with the ammunition stored separately. Any higher caliber gun has got to be associated with a sporting gun club, and your regular attendance at competitions is monitored.

      It’s not so easy to keep your guns buried in the yard, if you know that discovery will subject you to felony charges.

      If an Australian ever uses his legal gun for self-defense, even within his home, he is subject to felony charges as serious or more serious than the housebreaker.

      Switzerland already gave up its fabled independence when it agreed to associate membership in the EU. It’s gone.

      Their politicians are as banal, venal and lick-spittle as the most EU-compliant official found in France, Britain, Holland or any of the others. Switzerland could easily achieve the status of a successful outlaw state: maintain its banking secrecy laws, its borders, its citizen army, and devote itself to helping moral lawbreakers and blockade-runners of the EU. Switzerland was left alone by the Nazis not only because of its neutrality, but because it was a pretty tough nut to crack. All its citizens were armed and trained, its borders and bridges mined, and fortifications built throughout the country.

      If Switzerland were to assert its traditional integrity, its bank accounts would be overflowing with deposits from the corrupt EU bureaucrats who were publicly denouncing its political incorrectness. It would be overflowing with goods shipped off-the-record from EU companies strangled by the petty and useless EU regulations.

      • “and made any sort of gun ownership illegal for many years”

        How about you fact check before making false statements? It is relatively easy to own handguns in Australia- I lived there for 25 years so don’t [say things that I find questionable]. Qualifying takes 6 months minimum and no dice if you have a criminal conviction.

        The ‘net is full of people who THINK they know. Makes me irritable!

        • I stand corrected.

          Australia only banned and confiscated any semi-automatic rifle, including rim-fire rifles. They relaxed the rules somewhat since 1996, but thousands of privately-owned rifles had already been destroyed.

          The process for acquiring a Category A firearms license is still onerous. For instance, the Victoria Category A license application contains probing questions about the applicant’s medical history. Further, prospective gun owners are required to have “genuine reason” for owning a firearm; Australia does not recognize self-defense as “genuine reason.” Even with a license, individuals must obtain an additional permit to acquire a firearm in order to obtain a gun, and this process includes a 28-day waiting period.
          https://www.nraila.org/articles/20160415/never-enough-australias-gun-controllers-aim-for-more-restrictions

          Australia first introduced its gun laws following a tragic mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in April 1996, when a man used two semiautomatic rifles to kill 35 people, and wound a further 19.

          The government responded quickly – less than three months after the event, Australia had banned all rapid-fire long guns, including those that were already privately owned, and introduced strict punishments for anyone caught in possession of the weapons – including jail time.

          To further encourage gun owners to give up their existing weapons, the government bought back all the outlawed guns at market price, no questions asked.

          In 2003, the federal government also began buying back handguns – and since 1996, more than a million privately owned weapons have been surrendered or seized, before being melted down for metal. Overall, gun ownership has declined by 75 percent in the country between 1988 and 2005.
          Australia first introduced its gun laws following a tragic mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in April 1996, when a man used two semiautomatic rifles to kill 35 people, and wound a further 19.

          The government responded quickly – less than three months after the event, Australia had banned all rapid-fire long guns, including those that were already privately owned, and introduced strict punishments for anyone caught in possession of the weapons – including jail time.

          To further encourage gun owners to give up their existing weapons, the government bought back all the outlawed guns at market price, no questions asked.

          In 2003, the federal government also began buying back handguns – and since 1996, more than a million privately owned weapons have been surrendered or seized, before being melted down for metal. Overall, gun ownership has declined by 75 percent in the country between 1988 and 2005.
          http://www.sciencealert.com/20-year-review-of-australia-s-gun-laws-has-one-clear-finding-they-work

          But one of Howard’s other lasting legacies is Australia’s gun control regime. The law banned semi-automatic and automatic rifles and shotguns. It also instituted a mandatory buy-back program for newly banned weapons.
          https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/23/what-happened-after-australia-banned-lots-of-guns-after-a-massacre/

          • I don’t believe for one moment that Aussies have given up (all) their guns, it’s just not the nature of Australasians to do such a thing. I grew up in Central Otago, NZ, and knew personally of several people in my small hometown who owned handguns, yet they have been completely illegal in NZ for at least the last 100 years.

            Here in Canada the police estimate there are at least four million UNREGISTERED firearms in the country, and I know of several where I live.

            One of the most tiresome, unutterably stupid things we keep hearing from all manner of lying politicians, is the truly ludicrous statement: “We need gun control to stop crime”.
            Criminals always have access to firearms–in all countries, and for governments to demand citizens give up their guns simply means only criminals will be armed–and governments are the worst criminals of all, as we are seeing throughout the western world!

  3. The Swiss should tell the EU bureaucrats in no uncertain terms where to shove their confiscatory schemes and edicts concerning the centuries-old right of the Swiss citizen to keep and bear arms. Under no circumstances should free Swiss hand over their arms to those who would disarm them.

    History conclusively shows that gun confiscation is the prelude to the firing squad and the death camp, and that repressive regimes (and what is the European Union if not repressive?) always seek to first disarm those they wish to subjugate and/or exterminate.

  4. What are the Swiss worried about? They should trust the politicians to do what’s best for them. Like the Germans trust their Angela Merkel.

  5. I think if the authorities removed the Flouride from the drinking water and all other consumable products ; the citizens would again be able to think clearly. The obvious agenda to herd the Swiss into easily controlled sheep will not work in the land of William Tell. Where can I purchase a 24 round Swiss rifle ?.

  6. Why would a democratically government not trust their voters with guns?

    Only if their intentions are not in the interests of those voters, only if the intention is to alienate those voters

    Only if you consider your voters to be stupid…..

    • Israel’s gun laws are extremely restrictive, even for former members of the armed forces.

      Since last year, they’re easing up on the permit process, but it’s far easier to own and carry a gun as a civilian in Texas than in Israel.

      • Could it be the Israeli forces are better prepared, have better intelligence and are more vigilant than any others?

        • There’s also a plethora of private security agencies and personnel in Israel, which are very effective. It could be argued that this arrangement encourages full employment, while not adversely affecting security.

          As I mentioned, Israel is easing its gun restrictions on civilians. But, the laws are still far more restrictive than we would imagine.

          Imagine being limited to buying 50 bullets for your whole life, except for bullets actually bought and fired at a firing range.

          In Israel firearms licenses are typically only given if one can prove they have reason to carry a gun – for instance if they work in security or law enforcement or live in a dangerous area like the West Bank. They must also be over 21 years old, a resident of Israel for over three years, and pass a mental and physical exam, a shooting test and background checks by the Public Security Ministry. They are then allowed to order a gun through a gun store with approval of the ministry and given a one-time supply of 50 bullets to take home.

          http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-eases-gun-laws-in-bid-to-cope-with-Palestinian-lone-wolf-attacks-423925

  7. Stop the European Union.

    The only good thing they did is the landcode on car license plates so you can see where the criminals come from.

  8. Do I see a mini-SWEXIT on the horizon?? The EU is doing its very best to self-destruct and I wish it every success!

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