It’s weird because Switzerland is one of the most armed countries in Europe, as in they have firearms but barely any shootings of any kind (so you don’t often hear news equivalent to a guy shooting students in a classroom or killing people at a shopping mall over there). Part of it has to do with the draft (most people who purchase firearms have a form of training, as they learnt how to properly handle them during military service).
One reason I haven’t seen mentioned yet is practicability.
Yes, people have the tools. But how do you get that tool to where you need it?
In the US I believe you can just carry weapons for whatever reason you want. That’s not quite the case in Switzerland. If you’ve got a gun for military service, for example, you’re only allowed to carry it from and to military service or the shooting range. You can’t just go to a school with it. Same applies to other purposes. You can only carry a gun for the specific purpose you have your permit for. You can’t just take it to a school or mall.
Plus, the people who have guns at home usually only have the guns, no ammo, iirc.
Because nearly all of those arms are under lock and key. They don’t exist for fun shooting. They are federal property which is stored in the homes of reservists in case they are called in. Like they have their uniform and other items for their countries defence at home for this event. And people don’t have the ammunition for it, which would be supplied at the assembly locations when push comes to shove.
Socio-economic sanity.
in the US, theres significant propaganda to maintain gun ownership and ammosexuals, usually amongst conservatives and are quite misinformed about gun control in blue areas, because it also preys on paranoia, its ties into low education,not always but often. its also part of movies, shows,etc.
plus the ammosexuals fantasize about shooting people all the time(they would love for people to give them an excuse to do so)
The swiss only store those guns, and they don’t have the ammo for it.
It’s a bunch of reasons, but the one that we can actually do something about is the social democratic safety nets. We have way fewer in the US and that causes rampant anxiety, which leads to violence. Switzerland’s population isn’t on the brink of snapping, so they tend not to shoot each other.
Because the united states is one of the worst countries on the planet. We can’t own houses, have healthcare or even a job without basically being an indentured servant.
There is a decent Johnny Harris video about that exact question. The answer seems to be gun culture but different.
Wealth inequality.
This is solved and well documented and studied.
Next question.
I’d have to guess they have a better distribution of good guy with gun vs bad guy with gun?
Or just fewer bad guys? or less-bad guys?
You got part of it. The Swiss get formal training during their military service, and understand that owning a gun is a responsibility and an obligation, not a right. They have a sense of duty around their ownership.
But another big part is that nobody on the planet fetishizes guns like the US. Guns are a symbol of virility, of sexual prowess, of “American Freedom.” Facebook recently showed me a reel by a woman who poses (nude) on OnlyFans with guns and motorcycles. That is a profoundly US mindset. (And of course the guns are assault rifles.)
Only in the US and a few other pockets of rednecks are guns fetishized.
This always annoys me about the US. A gun is a tool. There is nothing inherently political about owning one. I own a lump hammer and a sickle but that doesn’t necessarily make me a communist. I just occasional need to bang things and chop things.
You missed the countries those rednecks ironically hate, because they share so much. They both want to impose their version of religious law, both fetishize guns, both hate women, and both have some serious problems with closeted POS.
switzerland has mandatory military service, a small population, and is higher per capita wealth. their quality of life is among the highest in the world and swiss gun culture is very responsible and chill.
USA is the opposite of most of that.
Im going to guess there are fewer desperate, discarded, angry people in Switzerland.
Yeah, guns are the tools and not the root cause. Significant income disparity, racism, social pressures, and a ton of other triggers cause murders and suicides and while guns enable them there still needs to be something that causes someone to use the guns in that way.
Violent crime that doesn’t involve guns in the US is significantly higher than other western countries.
Same with hard drugs, and the associated crime… they’re a symptom, not the root cause. Hard drugs are used to escape reality. If there’s fewer reasons to escape, usage drops dramatically.
My mom (if she were still here) would say it’s from Reagan taking money out of mental health.
My mom would say it’s from the fall of man and America turning away from God. Your mom seems smarter than mine.
Your mom seems like the reason why there are so many mass shootings in the USA
The “your mom” jokes are getting really cryptic. I’m completely OOTL.
If the loop is “your mom”
Are you implying that you trying to get back in the loop is you fucking that guy’s mom?
It always seems to go back to Reagan.
she’s on to something there.
People in Switzerland have a bit of discipline, common sense and a baseline of education. There are also rules what kind of weapons you’re are allowed to have: you CANNOT get a subwoofer AK573-ultra assault rifeletta with powerbooster that shoots 263 253mm bullits per second. For your toddler.
That, and also likely better mental healthcare, less laws that would cause situations where someone can be pushed over the edge, etc…
That and a magnum 53, a box of handgrenades and an ice cream as welcome gift. And a bonus card.
I would assume better social safety nets, less income disparity, and less economic and social stress on their less well off members of society. Pretty sure their society doesn’t idolize criminals and antisocial people either.
Crazy what Nazi gold will buy you
“Most armed country in Europe” is still a pretty different category from the level of gun ownership in the US and they have CONSIDERABLY higher standards for background checking and permits than the US. The US is one of the only country on earth that just lets some random walk into a store and walk out with a firearm.
False. 4473.
