Excerpt from Soc.Culture.Swiss on Usenet News:


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Date: 11 May 1995 04:21:57 -0600

It was reported in a local newspaper (as support against gun control
here in Canada) by someone that in Switzerland "every able-bodied
male is required by law to have a firearm in his house, many of them
automatic assault rifles."

I was wondering what the truth to this statement is?  If it is true,
what kind of records are kept as to the type of weapons that is kept
in each household?  Also, is there mandatory military service of any
kind in Switzerland (that would involve training on the weapons kept
in the homes)?

I would like to make an informed response to this article so any
help would be very much appreciated.  Response via e-mail would be
best, but any response is better than none at all.

Thanks,
Douglas.
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Douglas Robertson               E-Mail: dbrobert@acs.ucalgary.ca
University of Calgary           WWW   : http://www.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~dr/
"Remember that some gave their all so that you might have all you have."


Re:	Soc.Culture.Swiss
	Firearms and mandatory military service


The above statements are basically true, but they need a qualifier.
Every able-bodied Swiss man is required by law to undergo MILITARY
training and THEN takes home his rifle and ammunition.

When young Swiss men reach the tender age of 20 years, they are drafted
into the army for 17 weeks of "fun".  (I believe this is the first or
second year that the length of training has been cut back by several
weeks).  The mustering process generally determines which type of
military training these men will receive.  The Swiss army does not
train people in various trades or professions, rather it looks at the
education and training a young man has obtained prior to being
drafted.  After release from the army the men will then be permanently
assigned to a certain unit, i.e. artillery company, communications,
flight crews, etc.  For example, an electrician might very well be
trained in communications.  A cook most certainly will be in the
kitchen while a mechanic would be assigned a truck driver's position.
Upon entering military training the recruits are given an assault
rifle.  This rifle is semi-automatic and can be made serial-fire,
depending on the setting of a small clip in the breech.  Army training
in various weapons is rigorous.  After release from basic training, all
men take home their rifle, a box of ammunition which is sealed, uniform
and all the paraphernelia that the army handed out to them.  The
military service booklet is worth gold beause it keeps track of
everything; from blood type to time in the military jail, to the repair
of any item, specialized training, to sojurns abroad which prevented
the soldier from doing his refresher course (for which he has to pay a
military exemption tax, based on his income abroad), and address
changes.  Additionally, the results of all compulsory shooting
exercises are listed in there as well.  The care of these army goods is
now in the hands of the man himself (or it is probably his wife who
deals with these things...).

Having survived basic training, the military aspect in their lives will
not leave them for years to come.  The following year, these men will
be called up annually for a refresher course lasting three weeks.
These courses may be anywhere in the country and during different
seasons.  After a number of years, training takes place only every
second year and by the time these men reach their mid forties, they are
mustered out.

Beside military service, Swiss men also do have to attend compulsory
shooting exercises to prove their ability to shoot well. For this
reason, on weekends, many men are seen with their rifles on the way to
target ranges.  After practising they often can be found in a
restaurant, discussing world politics, their rifles standing in a
corner or hanging from a rack.

Swiss men do like weapons and so it is not surprising that often they
are owners of many weapons, including ammunition.  Weapons are readily
available; the military types at armouries and others at gun shops.  It
is no big deal, everybody has them and uses them extensively at target
ranges, often as member of a shooting association.  And since army
training is extensive, every man knows how to handle weapons.  Not only
that, but from earliest childhood on, the Swiss are exposed to
weapons.  Of course, men are fascinated by weapons.  "What jewels are
for women, guns are for men"!

So, what else?  I think the Swiss army is now in the process of
replacing the aging "Sturmgewehr" with a somewhat lighter weapon with a
smaller calibre.

Every man in Switzerland begins his military career at the bottom of
the ladder, as a private.  Toward the end of training the leaders will
have determined who would be material for promotion.  A few will get
the recommendation to go on to corporal training.  Right after this
training is complete, the corporal has to earn his rank by commanding a
small group of new recruits.  The evaluation process of corporals
determines who goes on to lieutenant school. Again the new lieutenants
have to earn their ranks by commanding a troop of 4-6 groups of new
recruits as well as their corporals.  The second lieutenant is usually
awarded after a few refresher courses and special services, rather than
earned.  However, the rank of captain is again earned by commanding a
company of some 120 men.  And so the process continues up through the
ranks with assigned units becoming progressively larger.  Military rank
greatly influences a Swiss man's position in private live.  Switzerland
does not have a general in peace times.  Should a war break out, the
combined federal government (lower and upper house) jointly select the
general.  Also, the Swiss army is strictly for defense purposes.  It is
however, one of the best equipped armies in Europe.

I am aware that Switzerland is being quoted quite often, whether it be
for or against guns and I am not going to discuss these issues.  But
one thing is certain, murder rates and crimes committed with military
weapons are exceedingly small.  That Swiss men have to go through the
army with its tough training, probably speaks for the low rate of
incidents.  As I mentioned above, Swiss men grow up with weapons, they
like them and everyone has at least the military rifle and ammunition
at home.  They consider their rifle to be a goddess and make sure that
nothing blemishes her.  Yet another issue, beside education, is at play
and is more difficult to define.  It is the attitude toward law and
order or the respect for them.  This is something that goes beyond
weapons, something that has been fostered over a very long time.

The Swiss government recently stated that it was looking at stricter
gun laws.  I surmise that it has a lot to do with (drug) gangs and
other criminal elements apparently operating in Switzerland.

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Heinz Buchmann
University of Saskatchewan

heinz@skatter.usask.ca
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