The Swiss have strict gun control laws that allow the government to tightly control who is allowed to own and possess a firearm, how many firearms an approved gun owner may own, and strict regulations on where they may transport those guns. Carry, either open or concealed, is tightly controlled and requires licenses that are difficult for private citizens to obtain. Buying and selling of firearms is limited to licensed gun dealers only, and every transaction must be approved by the govt. It is rare that a private citizen is allowed to own more than one firearm, unless they're considered antiques or collectibles. The govt has arbitrary authority over who can and who cannot own a firearm, with very little due process required to deny an individual the right to own or possess a gun. The storage location of every firearm is registered with and controlled by the govt.
This is the NRA's gunowners paradise.
This is so incorrect. Its not having access to firearms thats the problem. Its training. Switzerland for example is one of the highest per capita gun ownership countries in the world; however, their culture is to train, even kids, on proper firearm use. Also, red flag laws which help here in the US. and their murder rate is near zero for guns.
Yes, but training would also provide instruction on proper gun storage which would prevent many guns from getting into the wrong hands.
Yep. And felons arent allowed to buy guns here, either. And before Trump gutted it, Obama passed a law related to mental illness and gun ownership.
Lack of training is not the reason people are going around shooting people. There's definitely a different reason.
Texas Penal Code Sec 46.04 allows for a person with a felony conviction to possess a firearm on the premises where he lives, five years after the disposition of his conviction.
thats what ya call an anecdote.
I never said training would stop all shootings. /roll eyes
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Meant anecdotal evidence.
This is so incorrect. Its not having access to firearms thats the problem. Its training. Switzerland for example is one of the highest per capita gun ownership countries in the world; however, their culture is to train, even kids, on proper firearm use. Also, red flag laws which help here in the US. and their murder rate is near zero for guns.
Training? That's the weakest point yet. I mean the former Yugoslav Republics were full of people who'd had extensive training in the use of firearms, thanks to national service. It meant they were very effective snipers when they started shooting each other.
I do think there are multiple factors - Switzerland is clearly a massively different kind of society to the US, and I think it does make a big difference if you are an island or otherwise are able to control the illicit flow of firearms into a country. The size and borders of the US mean it's a different context to the UK or Australia. But 'training' has to be the least significant issue of all, becuase one thing the problem definitely isn't is an inability to understand how a gun works.
Switzerland is not nordic. It's sits right in the middle of Europe between France, Germany, and Italy.
PMV where are you from if you don't mind me asking. Just curious.
Switzerland is not nordic. It's sits right in the middle of Europe between France, Germany, and Italy.
That article should have been addressed to right wingers who believe the Nordic countries are socialist, rather than to the Bernie Bros/AOC crowd that wants America to be more like the Nordic countries.
I never said it was Nordic. Ever. However, that was a bad example to link. My point is exactly as I stated-Switzerland is a free country, with a free market economy.
And my point is that Switzerland and the Nordic countries are exactly the kind of free countries that most American 'socialists' want. Where private gun ownership is allowed, even encouraged in some cases, but strictly regulated as a collective right. Where capitalism flourishes, but social safety nets exist to limit poverty and abuses.I never said it was Nordic. Ever. However, that was a bad example to link. My point is exactly as I stated-Switzerland is a free country.
So are all the first world countries with socialized/single payer health care. Many with economic freedom scores higher than the US.
What's your point?
Similarly, if someone tells me the government can manage health care, based on how its handled on Indian reservations and the VA...uh no thanks. I would say people that think that...are nuts.
That's what I was waiting for. Conservatives always run to "mental health issue" but are almost always against laws increasing access to mental health care. Maybe Mike Huckabee can pray for them.
Earlier in the thread someone said we need to be more socialist to control gun violence, and I brought up Switzerland as an example of a free market country, with high gun ownership rates, and almost zero gun crime. Guns dont need to be banned (not that it would would ever happen) to lower gun violence.
And I detailed how Switzerland is not the gun owners paradise that the NRA claims it to be. In fact, I'm confident that most of the 'socialists' in America who want stricter gun control laws would be more than happy to have gun control laws just like Switzerland's.
And you know who would be most against having gun control laws in the US that are just like Switzerland's? the NRA.
Trump and the Republicans repealed an Obama-era regulation that blocked the mentally ill from owning guns.What?
What?
Trump and the Republicans repealed an Obama-era regulation that blocked the mentally ill from owning guns.
So his point is that Republicans always blame the mentally ill for gun violence, but then allow the mentally ill to own guns.