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Swiss politicians call for relaxation of gun laws after Austrian terrorist attack

Right-wing Swiss politicians have called for Switzerland’s gun laws to be relaxed in the wake of the Vienna terrorist attack.

Published: 5 November 2020 17:13 CET
Swiss politicians call for relaxation of gun laws after Austrian terrorist attack
Switzerland have a gun obsession which is unmatched in Europe. Photo: Stefan WERMUTH / AFP

With the second-highest gun ownership rate after the United States, Switzerland’s gun culture is both strong and unusual. 

But while Europe’s ‘gun capital’ has an almost American-style love of weapons, they do also have a relatively stringent gun control regime. 

EXPLAINED: Understanding Switzerland's obsession with guns

However, in the wake of Monday evening’s Vienna terrorist attack – where four people were killed and several more seriously injured after a rampage through the city’s historic centre – several right-wing Swiss politicians have demanded reforms to Switzerland’s gun laws. 

Call for reform 

Currently, while gun ownership is relatively free in Switzerland, gun owners require a special permit to carry their weapons in public. 

Members of the right-wing SVP (Swiss People’s Party) and FDP (The Free Liberals) have called for gun owners to be allowed to carry their weapons in public. 

Nicolas Rimoldi (FDP) took to Twitter, saying “Free citizens must be able to defend themselves and their loved ones against terrorists: the right to carry arms now!”

 

 

Jean-Luc Addor, from the SVP in Valais, tabled a similar idea for a parliamentary initiative in 2017 and suggested that he would consider doing so again. 

‘I brought this demand to the Parliament in 2017 . At that time I was a lone voice. Do you think the new Parliament is ready for such an idea?’

 

 

Swiss law currently calls for people to “flee, hide and alert (authorities)” in the event of a terrorist attack. 

Swiss love their guns

The nation of 8.3 million people has approximately 2.3 million guns, giving it the third highest gun ownership rate in the world after the United States and war-torn Yemen. Approximately 48 percent of Swiss households have at least one gun. 

Contrast this with the US, where the number of guns overtook the number of people in the country in 2009. A study from the Swiss Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies found that there was 393 million guns in the US (2018 figures) for 326 million people. 

READ MORE: Swiss vote to tighten gun laws and safeguard EU relations

READ MORE: Campaign launched for tougher gun laws in Switzerland

Approximately 41 percent of US households have at least one gun. 

In Switzerland there has not been a mass shooting for almost 20 years. 

In the US, there were more mass shootings in 2019 than there were days in the year, a study found. 

Shoppers at a gun store in Switzerland. Photo: Stefan WERMUTH / AFP

The US lobby group the National Rifle Association (NRA), frequently credited as the main reason gun control continues to be stifled in the United States, has actually pointed to Switzerland’s widespread gun ownership and low crime rates – the country’s murder rate is almost zero – as a reason for fewer gun control restrictions. 

However, the organisation fails to mention the widespread restrictions across Switzerland when it comes to using and owning weapons. 

While Switzerland does have a higher rate of gun deaths than the European average, these are mainly due to suicide.


Swiss gun laws

Switzerland’s gun culture is mediated by a strong set of gun regulations on prospective and current gun owners.  

The goal of Swiss gun regulators is to prevent the “violent and the incompetent” from owning guns. Anyone who possesses a “violent or dangerous attitude” will be restricted from gun ownership. 

How comprehensive are Swiss gun laws? Photo by Bo Harvey on Unsplash

There are federal laws which regulate gun ownership, however a large proportion of gun regulation happens at the cantonal level. 

Swiss authorities in each canton keep a log of all gun owners in the region, while cantonal police are also given the power to talk to psychiatrists or talk to representatives from other cantons as part of the vetting process when someone applies for a gun licence. 

People who have been convicted of a crime as well as individuals with substance abuse problems will be prevented from owning a weapon. 

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PROTESTS

How free are people to protest in Switzerland?

As a centre of international diplomacy and cooperation and with its unique system of direct democracy, Switzerland enjoys a reputation for upholding fundamental human rights—but how free are the Swiss to express their opposition to power?

Published: 24 April 2024 15:25 CEST
How free are people to protest in Switzerland?

In its recently released 2024 report, Amnesty International criticised Switzerland for imposing restrictions on the right to protest and for dispersing protests violently. 

So what’s the problem? 

While not an explicit ban on protest, Amnesty International considers the obligation in some Swiss cantons for protest organisers to gain official approval and shoulder potential costs to be a repressive measure—essentially a ‘workaround’ in cooling dissent.

Amnesty International’s criticism comes on the heels of other concerns.   

In 2024, Amnesty International joined with the United Nations in criticizing moves by some Swiss cantons and cities to ban protests regarding the Middle East conflict as ‘disproportionate’. 

Read More: How ordinary citizens can try to change the law in Switzerland

The organization has also highlighted the continued use of rubber bullets by Swiss police in dispersing protests as a serious area of concern. 

Furthermore, any changes to protests are controlled or permitted in Switzerland must be made through individual cantons due to the country’s devolution of specific powers – a process that could take years. 

So what restrictions have been introduced in Switzerland?

In early March, the ‘Anti-Chaoten’ initiative put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) youth wing, which would have placed significant legal and financial burdens on protesters, was rejected in a Zurich cantonal referendum. However, a counterproposal by cantonal authorities was accepted at the polls.

The successful counterproposal requires explicit permission from authorities to hold a protest or rally, as well as passing on the cost of the police operation, as well as any intentional damage, to protest organizers. Failure to gain approval for protests can result in charges being laid. 

Following the success of the Zurich measure, the Basel SVP intends to introduce a similar proposal to be voted on in August – with the same likely result.

Which protests have been dispersed violently in Switzerland? 

Due to global events, protests have become increasingly common in Switzerland over the last five years. Most have been peaceful, but there have been exceptions.

Measures introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus between 2020 and 2022 led to violent protests being dispersed in Bern, Zurich and Lucerne. 

Read More: Switzerland to impose tougher penalties for violent protesters

Climate change protests have also been violently dispersed by police, using pepper spray and rubber bullets – such as in Basel in February 2023.

Amnesty International has also raised serious concerns regarding the police dispersal of an International Women’s Day protest in Basel on March 17th of this year, in which rubber bullets were also used. 

Most recently, opponents of the Eritrean regime were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons at a demonstration in Gerlafingen, Aargau, on March 31st. 

What right do the Swiss have to protest? 

The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution—Article 16 provides for freedom of expression, while Article 23 protects the right to free association. 

Indeed, in 2020, the country successfully introduced a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for world governments to protect the right to protest and not use the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to curtail freedoms. 

Read More: What foreigners should know about the Swiss constitution

Furthermore, the country is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, which could have some bearing on how protests are dispersed.  

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