Read This...Is The US Still The Greatest Country Ever...?

**SteyrAUG** · 08-12-14, 04:14

https://www.facebook.com/23726776981...312436/?type=1

Photo of the Day: Motorcycle carry of a PE 57 in Switzerland.

Each September the hills around Zurich are alive — with the sound of gunfire. Nobody is alarmed, however, because they know it emanates from a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss: sharpshooting. And there's nothing random about it: The 12- to 16-year-olds are participating in Knabenschiessen, the world's largest youth rifle competition, which blends the jarring report of rifle fire with the melodious ringing of cow bells.

Firearms are as ubiquitous as chocolate and edelweiss. Weapons and ammunition — not multitasking pocket knives — are routinely issued to, and kept at home by, all able-bodied Swiss men for their annual military service. This custom is tied to the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland fairly quickly, so every reservist had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly point.

The Swiss learn to shoot from an early age, and develop a deep sense of responsibility toward their firearms. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of military arms are retrieved from closets and attics, slung over shoulders, and taken on bikes, buses and trains to compulsory shooting practices held in nearly every village and town. In fact, firearms are so anchored in Swiss society, and the crime rate so low, that gun control has never been an issue. "We feel it's our patriotic and civic duty to use the guns wisely," explains Felix Endrich, a spokesman for the Swiss Armed Forces. "We respect this tradition."

What we once had, they still have and somehow they've kept it. And it isn't just about guns. Our country was once very similar, but with the freedom to choose. Sadly many chose to not recognize a "patriotic duty" and even others decides that such notions were "fascist."

It absolutely kills me that the typical teenager in Switzerland is more conscious of proper gun handling than the average American with a CCW license.

**wildcard600** · 08-12-14, 08:32

Please correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe you need permits to buy most firearms in Switzerland as well as to carry in public. IIRC this requirement extends to tasers, air soft and even pepper spray.

While the Swiss do seem to have a unique perspective on issued military weapons and the obviously compulsory firearms training and discipline that comes along with it, gun ownership among private citizens has some sharp contrasts to the United States.

**MountainRaven** · 08-12-14, 10:23

Actually, gun control has been an issue in Switzerland. And Swiss soldier-citizens are no longer issued ammunition nor required to keep their rifles in their homes - they can keep them at their regimental barracks in the armory. In 2011, IIRC, there was a ballot initiative to disallow soldier-citizens from keeping their service weapons at home - which was defeated.

As mentioned, while Switzerland has fairly liberal firearms laws in comparison with much of Europe and a unique militia system, if you value the right to possess arms for your own protection, there are better countries to live in than Switzerland. The United States, for one.

**Sensei** · 08-12-14, 10:50

Why would you attempt to compare a homogenous country of 8 million people to a heterogenous country of 320 million? Better yet, why would you use such a narrow metric as assault rifle ownership to gauge personal freedom? To illustrate this point, try asking someone from Switzerland how easy it is to purchase a handgun or carry it concealed.

**brickboy240** · 08-12-14, 16:11

Try examining the Swiss tax structure, next to ours.

Also, in Switzerland, only about 15% of the people own their own homes. Real estate there is crazy high. So is the price of gas, food and everything else, really.

Their winters are also not very kind.

-brickboy240

**SteyrAUG** · 08-12-14, 19:02

Originally Posted by Sensei

Why would you attempt to compare a homogenous country of 8 million people to a heterogenous country of 320 million? Better yet, why would you use such a narrow metric as assault rifle ownership to gauge personal freedom? To illustrate this point, try asking someone from Switzerland how easy it is to purchase a handgun or carry it concealed.

I wasn't using the ownership of assault rifles as a sole issue, I was talking about things like low crime rates and strong respect for traditions. Things we "used" to have.

**Safetyhit** · 08-12-14, 19:18

Originally Posted by SteyrAUG

I wasn't using the ownership of assault rifles as a sole issue, I was talking about things like low crime rates and strong respect for traditions. Things we "used" to have.

For what it's worth I knew exactly what you were trying to say despite the imperfect wording. Not only do they seem to uphold tradition but maybe more importantly firearms aren't demonized to children or falsely implicated for human generated crime in their media.

**Sensei** · 08-12-14, 21:50

Originally Posted by SteyrAUG

I wasn't using the ownership of assault rifles as a sole issue, I was talking about things like low crime rates and strong respect for traditions. Things we "used" to have.

Again, homogenous society of 8 million people...

We are talking about totally different weight classes.

**Safetyhit** · 08-12-14, 22:22

Originally Posted by Sensei

Again, homogenous society of 8 million people...

We are talking about totally different weight classes.

Have to wonder what your driving at here. No one rational doubts that sensibility, morality, personal responsibility as well as tradition are on the decline in America. Switzerland doesn't seem to be eating itself away from the inside like we are is so at the very least they deserve recognition for that leg up no matter the population. In fact all you're doing is clarifying what we already know, which is that there are limits to the size of our melting pot.