1925 Knabenschiessen certificate of participation. Target shooting is one of the most popular sports in Switzerland.[1]The federal shooting range of Versoix, Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training (Obligatorischeschiessen) with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition.
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.[note 1][2] The laws pertaining to the acquisition of firearms in Switzerland are amongst the most liberal in the world.[3] Swiss gun laws are primarily about the acquisition of arms, and not ownership. As such a license is not required to own a gun by itself, but a shall-issue permit is required to purchase most types of firearms.[4] Bolt-action rifles do not require an acquisition permit, and can be acquired with just a background check.[4] A reason is not required to be issued an acquisition permit for semi-automatics unless the reason is other than sport-shooting, hunting, or collecting.[5] Permits for concealed carrying in public are issued sparingly.[note 2][6] The acquisition of fully automatic weapons, suppressors and target lasers requires special permits issued by the cantonal firearms office.[7] Police use of hollow point ammunition is limited to special situations.[8]
The applicable federal legislations are SR 514.54 Federal Law on Weapons, Weapon Equipment and Ammunition (German: Waffengesetz, WG, French: Loi sur les armes, LArm, Italian: Legge sulle armi, LArm) of 20 June 1997 (current edition of 15 August 2019),[6] and SR 514.541 Ordinance on Weapons, Armament Accessories and Ammunition (German: Waffenverordnung, WV, French: Ordonnance sur les armes, OArm, Italian: Ordinanza sulle armi, OArm) of 2 July 2008 (current edition of 15 August 2019).[2] The Weapons Law recognises a qualified "right to acquire, possess and carry arms".[note 3][6]
Swiss gun culture has emerged from a long tradition of shooting (tirs), which served as a formative element of national identity in the post-Napoleonic Restoration of the Confederacy,[9] 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 (notably the alpine cantons of Grisons and Valais) 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.[10] 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.[11] A permit for semi-automatic firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines is issued to anyone fulfilling art. 8 of the Weapons Act under the promise they will show after five and ten years that they're members of a shooting club, or that they used a firearm at least once a year within that five and ten years period [12] or to weapons collectors. The law pertaining to the acquisition of a high-capacity magazine by itself did not change.[13]
^swissinfo.ch, (Adapted from French by Thomas Stephens) (6 April 2018). "Switzerland: where five-year-olds can learn to shoot". SWI swissinfo.ch.
^ ab"SR 514.541 Verordnung über Waffen, Waffenzubehör und Munition (Waffenverordnung WV)" (official site) (in German, Italian, and French). Berne, Switzerland: The Swiss Federal Council. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^Calamur, Krishnadev (16 February 2018). "The Swiss Have Liberal Gun Laws, Too". The Atlantic.
^ abc"SR 514.54 Bundesgesetz über Waffen, Waffenzubehör und Munition (Waffengesetz WG)" (official site) (in German, Italian, and French). Berne, Switzerland: The Swiss Federal Council. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
^"Banned weapons, ammunition and weapon components" (official site) (in German, Italian, French, and English). Berne, Switzerland: Federal Office of Police, fedpol. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
^01.1054 Einfache Anfrage Rechsteiner Paul (2001)
^Julie Hartley-Moore, "The Song of Gryon: Political Ritual, Local Identity, and the Consolidation of Nationalism in Multiethnic Switzerland", Journal of American Folklore 120.476 (2007) 204–229, citing Kohn Hans Kohn, Nationalism and Liberty: The Swiss Example. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1956, p. 78.
^Aschwanden, Erich (17 August 2017). "In der Schweiz gibt es mehr Pistolen und Gewehre als geschätzt | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
^"19th May 2019 popular vote's result" (in German, French, and Italian). Federal Statistical Office. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
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