Approving tighter gun laws aligns Swiss with EU neighbors
GENEVA — Swiss voters on Sunday approved a measure to tighten its gun laws, bringing the Alpine nation in line with many of its European partners despite the objections of local gun owners, official results showed.
The Federal Chancellery said provisional results showed nearly 64 percent of voters nationwide agreed to align with European Union firearms rules adopted two years ago after deadly attacks in France, Belgium, Germany and Britain.
The vote was part of Switzerland’s regular referendums that give citizens a direct say in making policy. It had stoked passions in a country with long, proud traditions of gun ownership and sport and target shooting. Switzerland allows veterans of its obligatory military service for men to keep their service weapons after tours of duty.
The Swiss proposal, among other things, requires regular training on firearms use, special waivers to own some semi-automatic weapons and serial number tracking system for key parts of some guns. Gun owners would have to register any weapons not already registered within three years and keep a registry of their gun collections.
Supporters, who included the Swiss parliament and executive branch, said similar measures adopted by the EU after deadly extremist attacks are needed to ensure strong police cooperation and economic ties with Switzerland’s partners in Europe’s Schengen visa-free travel zone.
They insisted the measure will not block law-abiding citizens from obtaining legal guns, but would simply do more to track them.
Opponents insisted the proposal would violate Switzerland’s constitution and do little to fight extremism or crime. They said the weapons used in recent attacks in Europe weren’t obtained legally. They argued the proposal cracks down mainly on lawful gun owners in Switzerland and rams through what they see as the latest diktat from Brussels.
Switzerland hasn’t faced major extremist attacks like those that have hit France, Belgium, Britain and Germany in recent years, leaving scores dead.
Ahead of the vote, most of Switzerland’s major political parties — except for the populist Swiss People’s Party — favored the measure, with support strongest among Socialists and Greens.