A city councilor in Switzerland has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media.
Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later said she had been practicing shots from about 10 meters (33 feet) and found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target.
“I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I realized its religious content. I didn’t think about it,” Ameti wrote on X. “I’m incredibly sorry.”
The weirdest thing to me about this is that people in Switzerland have guns at all.
Why is that so weird? Switzerland has some of the most liberal gun laws in Europe.
Yep, gun culture is really big in Switzerland
What’s funny is that U.S. conservatives often point to Switzerland as a big success when it comes to guns, ignoring things like the socialized mental health care that Switzerland also has. Along with a permitting system, something else they would be against.
If I recall correctly, Switzerland has a lot of gun control laws that dictate who can own a firearm, when and where the firearm can be used, and ownership requires strict training and licensing that often comes from the compulsory military service that the country requires. All of that would be great to have here in the US since the little tidbit about guns in our rule book mentions a well-regulated militia.
I don’t think it’s as strict as you’re saying. I’ve heard stories from people who come from other countries and are able to do things like get machine gun permits in Switzerland. But the point is they get a permit to do it. Meaning that the authorities know they have the machine gun and can keep an eye on them if they think there’s a reason to.
You don’t have to guess - there’s a whole wiki article on it
So just like in the US, then?
No?
Yes? Atf form #4 required for machine gun permit. You can’t buy a new machine gun but you can buy one that was made before the NFA was passed.
Not to mention, part of why it’s so big is the compulsory military service and militia/reserve. The Swiss army reserve encompasses the vast majority of the male Swiss population.
Swiss labor is also some of the most expensive in all of Europe. They’ve done well for themselves with all that Nazi gold.
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Switzerland has one of the highest per capita gun ownership rates in the world, and I am pretty sure it’s the highest in Europe by a big margin.