OT PING Sasch
 

Sarah Austin > wrote:
> http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...616393,00.html
>
> Heidi Get Your Gun
> By _Helena Bachmann_ (javascript:void(0)) Tuesday, May. 01, 2007
>
> September the hills around Zurich are alive — with the sound of
> gunfire. Nobody is alarmed, however, because they know it emanates
> from a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every
> Swiss: sharpshooting. And there's nothing random about it: The 12- to
> 16-year-olds are participating in Knabenschiessen, the world's largest
> youth rifle competition, which blends the jarring report of rifle fire
> with the melodious ringing of cow bells. There's a paradox in this
> peaceful and neutral country that would make the NRA drool with envy:
> Firearms are as ubiquitous as chocolate and edelweiss.
> Weapons and ammunition — not multitasking pocket knives — are
> routinely
>
> issued to, and kept at home by, all able-bodied Swiss men for their
> annual military service. This custom is tied to the long-held belief
> that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland fairly quickly, so every
> reservist had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly
> point. The Swiss learn to shoot from an early age, and develop a deep
> sense of responsibility toward their firearms. Every summer, hundreds
> of thousands of military arms are retrieved from closets and attics,
> slung over shoulders, and taken on bikes, buses and trains to
> compulsory shooting practices held in nearly every village and town. In
> fact, firearms are so anchored in Swiss society, and the crime rate so
> low, that gun control has never been an issue. "We feel it's our
> patriotic and civic duty to use the guns wisely," explains Felix
> Endrich, a spokesman for the Swiss Armed Forces. "We respect this
> tradition." A 1999 law regulates the sale and licensing of private
> guns, including a ban on carrying concealed weapons, but the tradition
> allowing military rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition in private homes
> — dispersing an estimated 2 million firearms and millions of rounds of
> ammunition throughout a country of 7.4 million people — has mostly
> gone unchallenged. Until now, that is. Some political and pacifist
> groups are planning to force a nationwide vote to end the cherished
> custom of "a gun in every closet." Murmurs of discontent have been
> reverberating since 2001, when a disgruntled citizen opened fire with
> his army rifle inside the chamber of a regional parliament, killing 14
> and injuring 14 others. Opposition to the guns-at-home tradition
> gained momentum last year when a ski champion was shot to death by her
> husband. And, in the past few weeks, discontent has grown more
> vociferous following reports of a man brandishing his army rifle in a
> hotel, killing one person and injuring four others. "Keeping guns at
> home is outdated, useless and dangerous," says Chantal Gallard?, a
> socialist parliamentarian who is spearheading the fight for stricter
> arms legislation. Gallard?'s argument is bolstered by statistics
> showing 300 gun-related deaths — mostly suicides — every year. "These
> deaths are impulsive decisions taken in the heat of the moment," says
> Hans Kurt, who heads the Swiss Society of Psychiatrists and
> Psychotherapists, and supports tougher gun-control laws. "Take away an
> easy access to a gun, and these tragedies are preventable." Supporters
> of the status quo say anyone intent on committing a crime or suicide
> will find a way regardless of the availability of firearms. "There is
> always that risk, but the majority of our people are law-abiding," says
> Ferdinand Hediger, head of international relations for Pro Tell,
> Switzerland's
> gun lobby, aptly named after the country's legendary apple shooter,
> William Tell, who used a crossbow to target enemies long before
> firearms were invented. Seventy five million rounds of ammunition are
> fired every year, Hediger says, yet only a tiny number are used in
> killings. "Every death is one too many, but statistics have to be put
> in perspective." The Swiss Parliament recently threw out a plan to
> tighten the gun law. Still, acting on the outrage over the recent
> shootings and the mounting pressure from left-wing groups, politicians
> vowed to reconsider the issue in June. Ultimately, under the Swiss
> system of direct democracy, the citizens might have the last word. But
> for now, the crack of rifle fire is the sound of springtime in the
> hills around Switzerland.

--
Nick, KI6VAV. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their
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