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Article: Swiss gun ownership high/low shooting rate
- Thread starter snd1t
- Start date
Just getting around to checking out that article. Yep, total fluff piece.
"Around the world, stronger gun laws have been linked to fewer gun deaths. That has been the case in Switzerland too."
Sure, just like our shining examples of Chicago, DC, Newark, LA,...
Yeah, Switzerland is a bit of a monoculture. It's also a relatively expensive place to live and not particularly an easy place to gain citizenship or even residency. Probably one of the safest countries in the world is also one of the most 'mono' in culture, Japan. Gun ownership is near nil there, however.
"Around the world, stronger gun laws have been linked to fewer gun deaths. That has been the case in Switzerland too."
Sure, just like our shining examples of Chicago, DC, Newark, LA,...
Yeah, Switzerland is a bit of a monoculture. It's also a relatively expensive place to live and not particularly an easy place to gain citizenship or even residency. Probably one of the safest countries in the world is also one of the most 'mono' in culture, Japan. Gun ownership is near nil there, however.
ridleyman
NES Member
I have cousins in Switzerland with a real assault gun. Yes folks, high gun ownership=low crime rate here. It's not the guns, but I'm quite confidant that it's not the multi-culturism either. Culture has an influence, I'm sure, but more in the way of our violent history than anything else.
Another note on multi-culturism: Yes, we have much violence in the inner city and among low socio-economic minorities, but among middle class and/or educated ones the crime rate falls dramatically.
Once again, it's the values of family, education, and work that contribute to success! That doesn't mean we need more useless PhDs in education and psychology running around, but merely having an interest in one's world around them, reading, and not being an idiot is good enough for me. I love the fact that we have people from every race, background, religion (the non-violent ones, anyways), etc, here in the US, but let's bring in folks who work and who share our values! No more low lives from Central America-I never bought Obama's "only women and children" BS, when 1/2 of those immigrants were MS-13 inductees.
Another note on multi-culturism: Yes, we have much violence in the inner city and among low socio-economic minorities, but among middle class and/or educated ones the crime rate falls dramatically.
Once again, it's the values of family, education, and work that contribute to success! That doesn't mean we need more useless PhDs in education and psychology running around, but merely having an interest in one's world around them, reading, and not being an idiot is good enough for me. I love the fact that we have people from every race, background, religion (the non-violent ones, anyways), etc, here in the US, but let's bring in folks who work and who share our values! No more low lives from Central America-I never bought Obama's "only women and children" BS, when 1/2 of those immigrants were MS-13 inductees.
Varmint
NES Member
I've spent a lot of time in both countries (Switzerland and Japan), and culturally they are very similar. Very conservative, law abiding and nationalistic people. They even share a pension for dark suits.
Whutmeworry
NES Member
Perhaps the word you were looking for was "penchant"? Or maybe people in both countries simply value saving up over a lifetime to be sharp-dressed retirees???
Since the Anti-folks like to include suicides as "gun violence" shouldn't we include Japan's high suicide rate as "violence" thus making it a less safe country? South Korea is another country frequently cited as "safe" with a huge suicide rate.
KBCraig
NES Member
I have two friends who are dual US/Swiss citizens; one of them spent almost all of his school years in Switzerland. My only time in Switzerland was a four-day weekend in 1987, so I can only base my comments on their reports, plus what I learned by being interested in Swiss rifles.
Switzerland is not a monoculture: they may think alike, but they have four official languages from four distinct cultures (plus English), and sometimes people who ostensibly speak the same language can't understand someone from the other side of the mountain. The Swiss Italians, French, Germans, and Romansh are most definitely not the same culture.
All of them share a mistrust of central government, but local control has the downside of your neighbors controlling everything you do. There have been many HOA horror stories on NES, but Swiss zoning, code enforcement, and home ownership is an HOA on rage 'roids, except it's full government force and not just an unpleasant contract dispute.
The different cultures do share a religious/cultural/social conservatism that makes Rome look like San Francisco in comparison. Women couldn't vote in national elections until 1971, and one canton held out until 1991 before allowing women to vote in local elections.
Yes, shooting is the national sport, and they do it very well. Yes, you will see young people (and old people) on the streets or public transportation carrying modern military service rifles, either to/from their military drills, or on their way to a shooting competition. You will not see anyone carrying a handgun, other than police, and the very few people licensed to carry for self defense will be carrying concealed (NYC or Boston are easy in comparison).
I'd love to go back. It's beautiful, and safe, and I hope that before I die, I get to see the Lion of Lucerne in person one more time. As Samuel L. Clemens noted, it is the most moving piece of stone in the world; I've found myself choked up just trying to describe it, and the event that it memorializes.
