Firearms regulation in Switzerland


Firearms regulation in Switzerland[] allows the acquisition of semi-automatic, and -with a may-issue permit- fully automatic firearms, by Swiss citizens and foreigners with or without permanent residence. The laws pertaining to the acquisition of firearms in Switzerland are amongst the most liberal in the world. A reason is not required to own a gun unless the reason is other than sport-shooting, hunting, or collecting. Permits for concealed carrying in public are issued sparingly. The acquisition of fully automatic weapons, suppressors and target lasers requires special permits issued by the cantonal firearms office. Over-the-counter sale of hollow-point and soft-point ammunition is limited to hunting.
The applicable federal legislations are SR 514.54 Federal Law on Weapons, Weapon Equipment and Ammunition of 20 June 1997, and SR 514.541 Ordinance on Weapons, Armament Accessories and Ammunition of 2 July 2008. The Weapons Law recognises a qualified "right to acquire, possess and carry arms".
Swiss gun culture has emerged from a long tradition of shooting, which served as a formative element of national identity in the post-Napoleonic Restoration of the Confederacy, and the long-standing practice of a militia organization of the Swiss Army in which soldiers' service rifles are stored privately at their homes. In addition to this, many cantons have strong traditions of hunting, accounting for a large but unknown number of privately held hunting rifles, as only weapons acquired since 2008 are registered. However, in a 2019 referendum voters opted to conform with European Union regulations which restrict the acquisition of semi-automatic firearms with high-capacity magazines. A permit for semi-automatic firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines is issued to members of a shooting club, a citizen who shoots at least once a year which needs to be proven after five and ten years, or a weapons collector. The law pertaining to the acquisition of a high-capacity magazine by itself did not change.

Number of guns in circulation

Switzerland thus has a relatively high gun ownership rate. There are no official statistics, and estimates vary considerably.
The 2017 report from Small Arms Survey has estimated that the number of civilian-held firearms in Switzerland is of 2.332 million, which given a population of 8.4 million corresponds to a gun ownership of around 27.6 guns per 100 residents. Other estimates place the number of privately held firearms upwards to 3.400 million, giving the nation an estimate of 41.2 guns per 100 people. The International Crime Victims Survey conducted in 2004-05 reported that approximately 28% of all households in Switzerland owned guns, giving Switzerland the second-highest percentage of firearm ownership in Europe.
When Switzerland joined the Schengen Information System in 2008, it was forced to introduce a central registry for firearms.
Only firearms which changed hands since 2008 are registered. The number of registered firearms in this database was reported as 876,000 as of August 2017 which given a population of 8.4 million corresponds to around 10.3 registered guns per 100 residents.

Regulation

Switzerland's Weapons Law and Weapons Act has been revised to accede to the Schengen Treaty effective 12 December 2008. The Act on Personal Military Equipment governs the handling of military equipment, and in particular the handling of personal weapons by military personnel.
The law is applied to the following weapons:
, Switzerland.
Generally prohibited weapons are:

Buying guns

In order to purchase most weapons, the purchaser must obtain a weapon acquisition permit. Swiss citizens and foreigners with a C permit over the age of 18 who are not under a curator nor identified as being a danger for themselves or others, and who don't have a criminal record with a conviction for a violent crime or of several convictions as long as they haven't been written out can request such a permit. Foreign nationals who do not have a settlement permit but who are resident in Switzerland must present the competent cantonal authority with an official attestation from their home country confirming they are authorised to acquire the weapon or essential weapon component in that country in order to buy. Foreigners with citizenship to the following countries are explicitly excluded from the right to buy, sell and own weapons and their parts unless they ask for an exceptional authorization to the state: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania.
The following information must be provided to the cantonal weapon bureau together with the weapon application form:
For each transfer of a weapon or an essential weapon component without weapons acquisition permit, a written contract must be concluded. Each Party shall keep them at least ten years. The contract must include the following information :
This information must be sent within 30 days to the cantonal weapon registration bureau, where the weapon holders are registered, though CO2 and airsoft guns are not concerned by this
Categories
No acquisition permit needed
The following weapons can be acquired without acquisition permits :
The following weapons can be acquired with a shall-issue acquisition permit :
The following weapons can only be acquired with a may-issue acquisition permit that can be issued for professional requirements, in particular with regard to carrying out protection duties, such as protecting persons, critical infrastructure or the transport of valuables; target shooting by shooting clubs; collecting; National defense requirements; Educational, cultural, research or historical purposes :
The following weapons from the generally prohibited category can be bought with a shall-issue exceptional permit for sport shooter; proof of regular use or membership of a club needs to be provided after 5 and 10 years. This verification is to be done only for the first weapon purchased with that kind of permit :
The following weapons from the generally prohibited category can be bought with a may-issue exceptional permit for collectors with proof that they are kept in a safe place and protected from access by unauthorised third persons :
The following weapons can be bought with a regular may-issue exceptional acquisition permit for the following reasons :
In order to purchase ammunition, the buyer must fulfill the same legal rules that apply when buying gunsbuyer must be over the age of 18, not under a curator nor identified as being a danger for themselves or others, and don't have a criminal record with a conviction for a violent crime or of several convictions as long as they haven't been written out.. Foreigners with citizenship to the following countries are explicitly excluded from the right to buy and own ammunition: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania.
The buyer must provide the following information to the seller :
The possession of the following ammunition is generally prohibited:
To carry a firearm in public or outdoors, a person must have a gun carrying permit, which in most cases is issued only to private citizens working in occupations such as security. It is, however, quite common to see a person in military service to be en route with his rifle, albeit unloaded. The issue of such exceptional permits are extremely selective.
However, it is permissible to carry firearms in public or outdoors if the holder :
Furthermore, any licensed holder of a gun may transport an unloaded firearm for special situations.

Conditions for obtaining a Carrying Permit

There are three conditions :
The carrying permit remains valid for a term of five years, and applies only to the type of firearm for which the permit was issued. Additional constraints may be invoked to modify any specific permit..

Transporting guns

Guns may be transported in public as long as an appropriate justification is present. This means to transport a gun in public, the following requirements apply :
A 2017 amendment to the European Firearms Directive, known as the "EU Gun Ban", introduces new restrictions on firearms possession and acquisition, especially on semi-automatic firearms, personal defense weapons, magazine capacity, blank firing guns and historical firearms. The restrictions must be introduced into the Swiss legal system by August 2018 due to its membership of the Schengen area.
The Directive also includes an exemption covering a specific Swiss issue – it allows possession to a target shooter of one firearm used during the mandatory military period after leaving the army, provided it was converted to semi-automatic only. This part of the Directive specifically was however challenged by the Czech Republic before the European Court of Justice due to its discriminatory nature. The Czech Republic seeks nullification of the "Swiss exemption" as well as of other parts of the Directive.
Civil rights organizations planned to hold a referendum to reject the amended EU directive. According to Swiss People's Party vice-president Christoph Blocher, Switzerland should consider abandoning EU's borderless Schengen Area if the Swiss people reject the proposed measures in a referendum.
In a referendum held on 19 May 2019, voters supported the stricter EU restrictions on semi-automatic weapons, as recommended by the government.

Army-issued arms and ammunition collection

The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the recruit school, the basic-training camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30.
Prior to 2007, members of the Swiss Militia were supplied with 50 rounds of ammunition for their military weapon in a sealed ammo box that was regularly audited by the government. This was so that, in the case of an emergency, the militia could respond quickly.
, Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition.
In December 2007, the Swiss Federal Council decided that the distribution of ammunition to soldiers would stop and that previously issued ammo would be returned. By March 2011, more than 99% of the ammo has been received. Only 2,000 specialist militia members are permitted to keep their military-issued ammunition at home. The rest of the militia get their ammunition from their military armory in the event of an emergency.
When their period of service has ended, militia men have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. However, keeping the weapon after end of service requires a weapon acquisition permit.
The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents, both male and female. The sale of military-issued ammunition, including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issued assault rifles, is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many Federal Council licensed shooting ranges. That ammunition sold at ranges must be immediately used there under supervision.
The Swiss Army maintains tightened adherence to high standards of lawful military conduct. In 2005, for example, when the Swiss prosecuted recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges was improper use of service weapons.

Recreational shooting

Recreational shooting is widespread in Switzerland. Practice with guns is a popular form of recreation, and is encouraged by the government, particularly for the members of the militia.
Prior to the turn of the century, about 200,000 people used to attend the annual :de:Schiesswesen ausser Dienst#Eidgenössisches Feldschiessen|Eidgenössisches Feldschiessen, which is the largest rifle shooting competition in the world. In 2012 they counted 130,000 participants. For the 2015 Federal Shooting 37,000 shooters are registered. In addition, there are several private shooting ranges which rent guns.

Gun culture in Switzerland

Switzerland has a strong gun culture compared to other countries in the world. In 2016 SwissOlympics conducted a study on clubs and members in Switzerland: the Swiss Sport Shooting Federation is ranked 2nd in terms of clubs and 9th in terms of members. Those affiliated with the Federation are shooters needing a license in order to compete, those that don't need one will probably not be members as it is not needed. Groups like ProTell lobby for the preservation of Switzerland's gun rights. Additionally, the Schweizerischer Schützenverein, a Swiss shooting association, organizes the Eidgenössische Schützenfeste, every five years and the Eidgenössisches Feldschiessen is held annually. Every person with a Swiss citizenship, aged 10 years or older, can take part at any federal ranges and will be able to shoot for free with the ordinance rifle.
Another possibility for the children to shoot is the Young Shooters: the SAT oversees lessons in which Swiss children can learn how to shoot using the SIG SG 550 starting at 15 years old for the regular course. This activity is free and the Young Shooters are able to take home the rifle in-between the lessons if they are 17. For security reasons however, the bolt has to stay at the range in which they attend the lesson. This training takes place over a span of 6 years within a 3-4-month period each year and, if wanted, they can become instructors for the new generation of Young Shooters.
Traditionally liberal Swiss gun legislation has, however, been somewhat tightened in 2008, when Switzerland has complied with European Firearms Directive. Throughout the modern political history of Switzerland, there have been advocates for tighter gun control.
The most recent suggestion for tighter gun control was rejected in a popular referendum in February 2011.
In a referendum held on 19 May 2019, voters supported the stricter EU restrictions on semi-automatic weapons, as recommended by the government.

Firearm-related deaths

The vast majority of firearm-related deaths in Switzerland are suicides. The suicide method of shooting oneself with a firearm accounted for 21.5% of suicides in Switzerland in the period of 2001–2012.
By contrast, gun crime is comparatively limited. In 2016, there were 187 attempted and 45 completed homicides, for a homicide rate of 0.50 per 100,000 population, giving Switzerland one of the lowest homicide rates in the world. Of the recorded homicides, 20.3% were committed with a gun. In addition, there were 7 cases of bodily harm and 233 cases of robbery committed with firearms.
There were 16 completed homicides with a firearm in 2016. Of these, 14 were committed with a handgun, one with a long gun and one case marked "other/unspecified". None of the involved weapons were ordinance weapons issued by the Swiss Armed Forces. Similarly, out of 31 attempted homicides with firearms, 25 were committed with handguns, two with long guns and four "other/unspecified", with no use of ordinance weapons on record. For the period of 2009–2016, on average 16.5 out of 49.4 completed homicides were committed with a firearm, 13.8 with handguns, 1.9 with long guns and 0.9 "other/unspecified"; an average 0.75 cases per year involved ordinance weapons.