In 1994, when the US Congress debated whether to ban “assault weapons,” a talk show host asked then-Senator Bill Bradley (New Jersey), a sponsor of the ban, whether guns cause crime. The host noted that, in Switzerland, all males are issued assault rifles for militia service and keep them at home, yet little crime exists there. Sen. Bradley responded that the Swiss “are pretty dull.” For those who think that target shooting is more fun than golf, however, Switzerland is anything but “dull.” By car or train, you see shooting ranges everywhere, but few golf courses. If there is a Schuetzenfest (shooting festival) in town, you will find rifles slung on hat racks in restaurants, and you will encounter men and women, old and young, walking, biking and taking the tram with rifles over their shoulders, to and from the range. They stroll right past the police station and no one bats an eye. (Try this in the US, and a SWAT Team might do you in.) Tourists–especially those from Japan, where guns are banned to all but the police–think it’s a revolution. But shooting is the national sport, and the backbone of the national defense as well. More per capita firepower exists in Switzerland than in any other place in the world, yet it is one of the safest places to be. According to the UN International Study on Firearm Regulation, England’s 1994 homicide rate was 1.4 (9% involving firearms), and the robbery rate 116, per 100000 population. In the United States, the homicide rate was 9.0 …
that’s arguable….
we have tons of young immigrants who walk around in groups and beat up random people. this doesn’t happen in every city, but in many (like Aarau). I’m not saying that all immigrants in Switzerland are bad (not trying to be racist or anything)…but that’s just how it is. the people who do those things are mainly from albania and jugoslavia… plus if they kill someone, they’ll be in prison for about 8 years and then released. second time = 25 years. there is no “life”sentence
Long live The Swiss!
Now I know where to go when I go awol
Are those cattle next to the targets at 8:34 ? Those are some dumb cattle if so.
And to those that say that Switzerland has a different culture to the US and you cant compare them for gun statistics, well you have a point. But the US also has culture based in firearms. We wouldn’t be the country we are today if we did not have firearms to defeat the British. Many in the US have lost their sense of where we came from, as well as all their sense altogether.
the reason we have so much gun violence in the US is because of minorities, period. You can call me a racist all you want but just look at statistics. Its is a fact.
Very true.
i partially agree, but you do hear sometimes of “Mainstream people shooting
Yes you do hear of mainstream people shooting SOMETIMES. But look at statistics and you will see it is the stupid ass gansta wanna be minorities.
We have the same problem too!!!
Why can’t America be like the Swiss? We both have things in common throughout out history. We’ve both resisted tyranny by arming our citizens, yet the politicians in Switzerland seem to….identify…with the citizens more that the USA. The Swiss have made self-defense a necessity, not a luxury.
They are like Israel. Maybe it’s because America hasn’t gone through the same hard times as they have?
I should clarify: Switzerland was the only European nation other than Britain who thwarted Hitler’s invasion in 1939-40. Every solider and militiaman was ordered to attack relentlessly, whether in a group or alone, and if they received and “order” to surrender, discount it as a lie.
Israel is hated by half of the world…yeah…they NEED guns…
Places with the highest gun control, have it because of the gun crimes that accure. BTW, I don’t think people should be disarmed, I just don’t think we need automatics, .50 cal sniper rifles, or grenade launchers.
How smart can someone be, if the only reason they own an assault rifle, is to protect that very same assault rifle?
I wish the US could do what Switzerland does but I don’t think it would work here, execpt maybe in rural areas.
I like gun control as it is; The feds need to back off and individual states should be able to decide whether or not to ban “assault rifles”.
Gun control is people control. Unfortunatly people here in britain are extremely ignorant so they have been brainwashed by the government. Im seen as a bad person owning a gun. I think the Government are planning something, that when it happens we will be utterly defenceless. We need a wake up call the anti gun populace of this new generation is about 49 out of 50 people its very sad.
Given the ready availability of firearms in Switzerland, it would be interesting to compare the firearm assisted suicide rate in that country compared with the UK and US.
BOTH U.S AND U.K have a higher crime rate than Switzerland as a proven fact.
And how about ccw in Switzerland?
not 1 cow was hit this people shoot rifles before they can drive!.
Cyrstal,
I agree with you…but ever since this thing that happened…oh, say in 1861 when one part of this country decided to oppress and destroy the other part of this country that wanted to be left alone and not coerced…we haven’t had anything close to resembling Switzerland. And that is why we have gun control and no respect for the Constitution. With that said, the grass isn’t always as green on the other side of the fence..the Swiss aren’t perfect, but much more than we are for sure.
Yea, because it makes a difference whether or not you shoot yourself, jump off a bridge, swallow pills, hang yourself, or jump in front of a train :)
This video was much better with the sound.. Dang I miss it!
It is hard to compare crime rates vs weapon laws in different countries without comparing a lot of other aspects such as culture, diversity, history other laws. it is not simple as let’s ban weapons. or let’s let everyone gets a tank. each country should look at their stats not other countries’. beside changing weapons laws will take long time to see its results on society. just like any law that deals with everyday life. takes a long time.
@Goodspittin I’m moving there when I’m 18… Damn Barrack Obama fails, dude he has been in office for 1 year and he has gotten us 14 trillion dollars more in debt.. and people said Bush was bad? Switzerland rules…!!!
Their IS gun control in Switzerland! These guys probably followed 4 months of army training and were given the SIG 550. You can’t go in a gun shop and say “I need a 9mm” without a gun license. When you go to a shooting range you are not supposed to show off with your gun on the back!
Too bad i cant get a SIG SG-550 in the us
Good video. What’s with the audio? Can I see this elsewhere with audio? Who is WMG?
Thanks for the video… but I probably won’t post on facebook without the audio. :-(