Came back from my week-long trip to Europe this past Thursday. It was a very profitable trip in terms of things learned and possibilities opening up for me, but I'll keep the content of this post to stuff relevant to this forum.
I had hoped to get some evidence that, yes, it is true that in every Swiss home there is a fully automatic weapon with ammunition. Here's photographic proof:
This shot was taken inside the house of the family I stayed with. This fella is the family's only son. He's about 21-22 years old, and started his stint with the Swiss Army when he was 20, like all other able-bodied male citizens. He'll continue his service for the next 30 years, barring some physical mishap (like what happened to his uncle, who received a back injury and mustered out when he was in his mid-40s).
Unless he decides to get a higher rank, he'll take about a week out of every year for refresher training.
That rifle he is hefting is a SIG (big surprise)--I'll let the SIG long-gun enthusiasts give us the exact model. It's fully-auto capable (drool).
Now, when you muster out, you have the option of keeping a few items out of your kit. That includes your weapons. If you decide to keep your rifle, then an armorer has to modify the action for semi-auto-only fire.
This fella's dad kept his pistol when he mustered out, some ten years ago. It's an older model SIG, the ones that look very much like the Browning Hi-Power.
In some of the discussions I had with some other citizen-soldiers over there, they stated that there is about as much arguing over gun ownership issues there as there is here in the States. Many of the qualms over gun ownership stem largely from all the foreigners who have taken residence in their country (Population is about 6 mil, with an additional 1 mil who do not have Swiss passports).
When I told them that we often point out the Swiss as a good example of responsible gun ownership and its effects on crime, they seemed rather pleased and appreciative of it.
Crime is extremely low. When I was helping set up for a meeting we were having Saturday, we took crates of food and drink and merely left them at the locked gate, practically on the side of the road. I asked, "is it a good idea to do that?" And the driver (the father of the young man pictured above) said, "No one will take it." He then went on to talk about how flower and produce vendors out in the various Marktplätze will leave their wares out all weekend, and no one will bother them.
Now, that isn't to say that crime is nonexistent. When I thief does steal something, it usually is some high-dollar item like electronics or cars. But still, in the issue or two of the Zürich newspapers I read, I found no mention about the crime of the day, which is found so often in most American newspapers.
***
During my stay, I also learned about the historical basis for Switzerland's military neutrality. Students of military history already know how the Swiss were famous for their fighting skills (the Swiss Squares were the tactical cutting-edge formation of its day) and would hire out themselves to whatever king would pay.
Eventually, you found Swiss units attached to just about every warring kingdom in Europe. Often Swiss units would find themselves fighting against other Swiss units--fighting against friends and even family for the sake of some foreign king who wanted to spare his own troops.
Then came an awful battle between the French and Italians, both using Swiss mercenary units. The battle resulted in very heavy Swiss losses. The Swiss who survived that battle then swore that they would no more give their lives for a foreign power. That has pretty much been the case ever since.
Pretty interesting, isn't it? If anyone else can flesh out the details of anything I've shared here, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
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Exodus 22:2 -- Biblical precedent for home defense.
I had hoped to get some evidence that, yes, it is true that in every Swiss home there is a fully automatic weapon with ammunition. Here's photographic proof:
This shot was taken inside the house of the family I stayed with. This fella is the family's only son. He's about 21-22 years old, and started his stint with the Swiss Army when he was 20, like all other able-bodied male citizens. He'll continue his service for the next 30 years, barring some physical mishap (like what happened to his uncle, who received a back injury and mustered out when he was in his mid-40s).
Unless he decides to get a higher rank, he'll take about a week out of every year for refresher training.
That rifle he is hefting is a SIG (big surprise)--I'll let the SIG long-gun enthusiasts give us the exact model. It's fully-auto capable (drool).
Now, when you muster out, you have the option of keeping a few items out of your kit. That includes your weapons. If you decide to keep your rifle, then an armorer has to modify the action for semi-auto-only fire.
This fella's dad kept his pistol when he mustered out, some ten years ago. It's an older model SIG, the ones that look very much like the Browning Hi-Power.
In some of the discussions I had with some other citizen-soldiers over there, they stated that there is about as much arguing over gun ownership issues there as there is here in the States. Many of the qualms over gun ownership stem largely from all the foreigners who have taken residence in their country (Population is about 6 mil, with an additional 1 mil who do not have Swiss passports).
When I told them that we often point out the Swiss as a good example of responsible gun ownership and its effects on crime, they seemed rather pleased and appreciative of it.
Crime is extremely low. When I was helping set up for a meeting we were having Saturday, we took crates of food and drink and merely left them at the locked gate, practically on the side of the road. I asked, "is it a good idea to do that?" And the driver (the father of the young man pictured above) said, "No one will take it." He then went on to talk about how flower and produce vendors out in the various Marktplätze will leave their wares out all weekend, and no one will bother them.
Now, that isn't to say that crime is nonexistent. When I thief does steal something, it usually is some high-dollar item like electronics or cars. But still, in the issue or two of the Zürich newspapers I read, I found no mention about the crime of the day, which is found so often in most American newspapers.
***
During my stay, I also learned about the historical basis for Switzerland's military neutrality. Students of military history already know how the Swiss were famous for their fighting skills (the Swiss Squares were the tactical cutting-edge formation of its day) and would hire out themselves to whatever king would pay.
Eventually, you found Swiss units attached to just about every warring kingdom in Europe. Often Swiss units would find themselves fighting against other Swiss units--fighting against friends and even family for the sake of some foreign king who wanted to spare his own troops.
Then came an awful battle between the French and Italians, both using Swiss mercenary units. The battle resulted in very heavy Swiss losses. The Swiss who survived that battle then swore that they would no more give their lives for a foreign power. That has pretty much been the case ever since.
Pretty interesting, isn't it? If anyone else can flesh out the details of anything I've shared here, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
------------------
Exodus 22:2 -- Biblical precedent for home defense.