To Mike H
Although the Swiss (me included
)claim about the law of gun ownership it's compared to other countries not to bad. EVERY Swiss has the right to buy Handguns under the following assumtion:
- You must have a clean record of you on the federal gouverment of law and justice. (You can order your own file by mail)
- You have to be 20 years old.
- There has to be no intention that you gonna do something stupid with the handgun. (However this can be proven?!
If you fullfil this, you get a premisson to buy 3 handguns within 6 Month, but only at the same gunstore! You can order 3 premissions at once so you can buy max. 9 Guns, if you can afford it.
BUT: This premission is only valid to buy a gun! You're not aloud to carry around one. It's very hard to get this premission! There has to be a real good reason for it. For job-reason (Security), if you're a endangered person. For this premisson, you have to make a written test about law knowlege and a shooting test about your shooting skills.
If you get the premisson to buy a gun, type an caliber is free. So it can be a .22lr or a .454 Casull, dosen't matter! (For fullautomaticpistols, like the Beretta 93R, HK5MP you need a special premission with a lot of troubles and paperwork!!)
With the premission for the gun you automaticly get the right to buy any kind of ammunition, except explosiv bullets, poisend (movie stuff) or the one with heavy cores such as tungsten (Sorry, I don't know the name for it in english), all others FMJ, HP, ... are o.k.
Before January 1st, 1999 we had a different gun law, which was less restricted. In certain states you could by supressers and other funny accesories! Now, it's forbidden, but at least you can keep them if you bought it before the change.
Beside all this: Every young swiss man (20 and older) has to go to the military. After 15 weeks of training you fullfilled the basic training and you have to go to a "refresher" every year for 3 weeks. In the meantime you have to store your full automatic rifle (it's a SIG 550 in .223) at home. Or, it depends on which unit you are, you got a Pistol SIG 220 (before that it was the SIG 210), which you also store at home.
I hope that gives you an impression about the circumstances here.
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[This message has been edited by Nautilus (edited January 14, 2000).]