Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Well, being a "pathological pragmatist" one could have thought that he would advocate to lower gun violence by getting rid of the guns, rather than trying to demonstrate that people who live in nice and clean places are magically less violent.

So... meh.





Switzerland is packed with guns to the brim. Gun violence there doesn’t exist.

Why?


Because they usually don't get to keep the ammo at home.

And if they do, there are strict rules about counting it when taking home, and when bringing it back to e.g. annual shooting contests, etc.

Source: Spent my first 30 years in CH.


What you are saying applies to militia/military-issued weapons. Private citizens with gun permit can buy ammo freely.

Here: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/many-guns-few-shootings...

Scroll down to “ I’ve heard that there are strict limitations on ammunition in Switzerland. Who can buy ammunition and how much can they acquire?”, the answer to which basically boils down to: anyone with a valid permit.


> What you are saying applies to militia/military-issued weapons

Which is what the 2A ding-dongs are usually referring to when they pipe up with the usual "Switzerland has lots of guns!" nonsense.

> which basically boils down to: anyone with a valid permit.

Plus restrictions on what kind of ammo, and the seller can request they perform a background check.


> Which is what the 2A ding-dongs are usually referring to when they pipe up with the usual "Switzerland has lots of guns!" nonsense.

No. It applies to weapons issued by the state.

> Plus restrictions on what kind of ammo, and the seller can request they perform a background check.

Man, it’s as easy to buy ammo in Switzerland as in the US. You can argue on all these minor points about background checks etc (btw majority of high profile shootings in the US are done with legal arms!), but it has nothing to do with reality.

Something else is at play here


The ammo thing is for the service rifle. Switzerland also has a very high private ownership level at least compared to the rest of Europe, and by they can keep ammunition at home (but secured, like the weapons).



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: