"...vote of confidence in...Swiss values such as freedom, trust, self-responsibility and security."
-Committee against anti-gun initiative
Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban army firearms from their homes, following a nationwide referendum. [57% of the voters voted against the initiative]
Just two hours after polls closed, 22 out of 26 cantons returned final results, with a majority of cantons - 17 - voting firmly against the move. For the referendum to have passed, it would have needed the support both a majority of cantons and a majority of people. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,...
Number of gun deaths falling
The number of people dying because of guns is falling.
259 people were killed by firearms in 2008 and 239 of these were suicides.
The year before (2007) the total figure was more at 291—and 264 took their own lives.
The numbers also show that men still make up the majority of people killed by guns.
The new figures have just been released by the Federal Office of Statistics, and show that the number of gun deaths has almost halved over the past decade.
http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews...
George Orwell: "That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." I don't ever want to become a lamp shade. That is my only comment.
jbranstetter04
Arms - suicide
The number of people who use firearms to commit suicide has dropped over the past decade. In most cases people nowadays use poison or a drug to end their lives.
Nevertheless young men still very often choose a firearm if they want to die, according to de Haller. Statistics also show that more than 90 per cent of the people who died of gunshot wounds are suicide cases.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/...
Deaths:
259 people fell victim to a bullet wound in 2008, and 239 among them were cases of suicide.
The overwhelming majority of the victims were men. There were only 13 women.
The number of gun deaths nearly halved in a decade. Of the 466 cases in 1998, 413 were recorded as suicides.
At the same time suicide through poisoning and drugs nearly doubled to 395 cases in 2008.
(Source: Federal Statistics Office (Switzerland))
"The key to freedom is the ability to defend yourself."
-Marc Heim
"What used to be part of our defence strategy has become a security risk."
President and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey
Soldiers who have completed military service can hold on to the army's latest assault rifle from April 1, but they will have to pay for the pleasure.
The government says the weapons must first have their fully automatic capability disabled -- and owners have to foot the bill.Friday's ruling means Swiss soldiers can, for the first time, take home the SIG 90 assault rifle.
Previously, they had only been allowed to keep the older SIG 57 rifle and regulation pistols.
But in a break with tradition, those who don't want to be separated from their personal weapon will have to dip into their pockets. This applies to both new and old SIG models.
They will have to pay up to SFr100 ($87) to have their rifle disabled, so that it cannot fire in bursts. In the past, the army's logistics division picked up the tab.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Arch...
Switzerland; Gun Laws: Swiss Vote to Keep Gun Rights; To keep military rifles at home | |
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