Quote:
Originally posted by utabintarbo
To illustrate, compare Switzerland, which is among the most heavily armed of all countries yet has one of the lowest rates of gun violence, to the United States. What is the difference btwn. the two societies?
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I thought I posted this earlier, but apparantly I must have hit cancel or something...
The difference with switzerland is that the reason it is among the most heavily armed nations is because those arms are provided by the swiss militia (army) -- they call it a militia.
Every 'man' between the ages of 20 and 26 gets drafted into the army (they're somewhat flexible about when you have to go so that it meshes well with studies or apprentiships). Everyone drafted gets issued an assault rifle -- usually they will keep it for the duration of their service. After the initial boot camp called 'RS' (for Rekrutenschule) they essentially become reservists but go on active duty for a few weeks to a couple months every couple of years (how often vs how long can vary).
Not everyone becomes reservists though you can chose to go profesional too. Another interesting fact...non swiss citizens living in the country or those who opt out of the draft (with medical, religious or other 'good' reason) have to pay an surtax (ontop of income tax) for the rest of their lives.
Naturally what you do in the army also largely depends on what you're studying on the outside...
Last I heard though the assault rifles they're issued to take home are semi-auto only... In addition I dont think the issued rifles are allowed to leave the home unless going to an army function (like the yearly schedualed target practise).