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Title: Swiss Vote to Keep Guns at Home (Militia defeats gun grabing socialists)
Source:
The Wall Street Journal
URL Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100 ... 3515504576142190857662716.html
Published: Feb 13, 2011
Author: DEBORAH BALL
Post Date: 2011-02-13 14:48:44 by Hondo68
Keywords: men between 18 and 30, three months military training, Swiss militiamen
Views: 47923
Comments: 55
ZURICH—Following an emotional debate over gun control, Swiss voters firmly rejected a referendum that would have forced soldiers to end the longstanding practice of keeping army-issue firearms at home and tightened restrictions over civilian gun ownership. According to exit polls, 57% of voters rejected the initiative. The referendum sparked a heated debate over the right to bear arms in a country that has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world. Between 1.2 million and 4.5 million firearms are estimated to be in circulation in Switzerland, putting the Alpine country behind only the U.S. and Yemen in guns per capita. The number is particularly high because members of the Swiss militia have traditionally keep their army-issued rifles or pistols at home, to be ready to defend the nation at a moment's notice. Switzerland has virtually no standing army, relying instead on conscripted militia for national defense. All Swiss men between 18 and 30 years old are called up to do three months' military training, followed by regular refresher courses. The notion of the citizen-soldier is a cornerstone of Switzerland's armed neutrality policy. For decades, Swiss militiamen kept their army-issued firearms stashed in closets or under beds at home. But support for keeping so many guns at home has eroded, with opposition led by women, doctors and police, who claim that the easy availability of arms facilitates domestic violence, suicides and homicides. They contested the need to keep guns at home given that Switzerland hasn't come under threat since World War II. Opponents of the referendum argued that the initiative was tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the Swiss army. Each side used stark images to sway voters. The referendum's supporters used a teddy bear with blood dripping from a hole in its chest, brandishing the motto, "Protect your family." A right-wing group's posters featured a man with dark glasses pointing a gun at the viewer, a play on anti-immigrant sentiment. The Swiss government opposed the referendum, arguing that soldiers are now allowed to store their weapons on base and that civilian gun possession laws—once very liberal—are now tight enough. The "no" vote exceeded 70% in some rural cantons, which are more conservative and are the home to many shooting clubs. The Swiss people won't let themselves "be disarmed," said Jakob Buchler, a leader of the conservative Democratic People's Party.
Poster Comment: 
Swiss Militiaman Shopping
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#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
The Afghanis seem to be well armed.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
We made sure of that, so that they could fight the USSR. Who could have guessed that they'd use them to repel American invaders too? /s
We seem to have developed a pattern of first building them up and then tearing them down.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
LOL! You stupid libTURD whore. The Afghanis have absolutely NOTHING to do with the Swiss. Let me guess you stupid libTURD whore, you are against all private firearm ownership all over the world aren't you? What's it's like to be a tool of tyranny and a FOOL?
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
OK Mutt.... go growl at your hill-billie granny, Murron.
John Hancock was one of our country's founding fathers, he played a pivotal role in the founding of our nation and in 1776 was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, something a POS like you could only dream about. You on the other hand, are an anonymous nobody, posting cowardly remarks about women you don't know. If you really want to impress me, or anyone with an IQ above room temperature, you'd make your comments to me ...in person, face to face anytime you grow a set, I'll show you the way!
It is buckeroo. I'm going to ban him later. I told him that he could only come back in he apologized.
Apologize for what? When are you going to apologize for deleting/editing posters' remarks? What about Mad Dog and his nasty mouth? I've got him on bozo but John Hancock highlighted his comments, so I saw them this time.
None of your business Fred. What are you a fucking CHIHUAHUA?
Why do stupid right wingers assume socialists want to de-arm the population? Socialists are pro gun ownership. George Orwell the author of '1984' and a committed Socialist wrote: "THAT RIFLE HANGING ON THE WALL OF THE WORKING-CLASS FLAT OR LABOURER'S COTTAGE IS THE SYMBOL OF DEMOCRACY. IT IS OUR JOB TO SEE THAT IT STAYS THERE." The issue in Switzerland has nothing to do with Socialists since the govt is the one that issues the guns in question - in other words - Socialism is what armed the Swiss militia.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I know a few socialist right here at home and tho our political beliefs clash, they no more wish to be un-armed than me. I believe it is the socialists who trust the UN that don't care if our weapons are confiscated, they honestly (ignorantly) believe it is the right thing to do to save lives. They don't stop to think that an 'unarmed' people are easier to manipulate and control.... And I also believe that if we have a leader who trusts and sides with UN mandates, then we are screwed, they will attempt to unarm us. jmho~
I'm no right winger and I like my guns. I have most of the weapons I bought while in the Army still, including the first handgun I bought in 1972 while 18 through a friend as I was only 18 at the time, it is a S&W model 15, a 38. Ironically when I carry concealed (Yes, I have a permit) I carry this under powered revolver with only six rounds. I also do my own reloading and am a very good shot.
Better to hit something with that, than miss with a canon.
I agree. I'll only pull it to use it to give me room to escape a bad situation or kill someone intent on harming me. Whe I was a teenager in Boston at age 16 I had a guy pull a revolver on me on the street and with teenage speedy reflexes I grabbed hold of the gun and the falling trigget pinched the web of my hand between the thumb and index finger and I yanked it out of his hand and ran. Talk about being a lucky kid. The cops took that away from me when my aunt reported the attempt at mugging me near Fenway Park (I was there to see baseball's best team). But I found out later in training that I grabbed for it in the right spot. That one was an S&W too, a model 10. This was in 1970.
Only people living in America and Somalia fear a UN invasion of peace keepers it seems. I don't know why Americans are so paranoid...my guess is years of Cold War mind fucking from the American govt to keep the people afraid and in favor of ever increasing military budgets as well as the mixing in of Protestant end time kooks like Hal Lindsey who used the UN as a stand in for the Antichrist. All I know is when Black Panthers showed up to a town hall meeting, armed, Ronald Reagan and right wingers could not ban fire arms fast enough (Mulford Act in 1967).
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
During the unrest on California Campuses, then Governor Reagan shocked his staff by calling for the killing of protesters. He quickly reversed himself, and the news stories are seldom quoted and referred to, but they are still in the archives and I won a bet on this once. We need guns because the government should fear it's people, not the people their government. And tyranny and oppression can come from a right wing or left wing government out of control. Either part of the spectrum have shown they can go insane if given power. Gun ownership is not a right or left wing issue if one understands it, it is a check and balance element the Founding Fathers wisely wrote the Second Amendment to empower.
I don't disagree that the govt needs to be in fear of its people but Gandhi and the Egyptian and Tunisian people - as well as the people of the Eastern Soviet Block did not need arms to bring down their govt. And I prefer that non violent model when the people who are doing the oppressing are your own countrymen who are misguided (not wanting to kill your own countrymen that is). And the Swiss arms in this article were never meant to be used on their own people's govt but on foreign invaders.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Egypt dose not have FEMA emergency confinement centers, did not train troops how to do a shock and awe surprise sweep up of 'troublemakers,' or some of the more sophisticated crowd control devices we now have. Peaceful means toward change is preferable. But if there are not people out there who know how to organize insurgency actions and know how to marshal people with tools like weapons and handguns, often the peaceful efforts are not taken seriously and they are more prone to default to just sweeping non- violence actions aside as one would kick then club a barking dog that offends. I am a peaceful man. One who can go to the hardware and drug store and buy what I need to use knowledge kept from most people to blow thing up and make a mess out of things. And all this knowledge I got freely and legally while in a unit that deals with low intensity conflict. If things gets bad enough I will teach it and use what I know as will many others. I prefer the peaceful change options be used, but I am no fool. And people like me will fuck shit up if no option for peaceful change is left us.
If the Confederacy fielding the finest of armies led by the most brilliant of generals could not defeat the Union army I doubt any rag tag militia will either.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Heh, which is why all our billions and war dead and wounded kept Saigon from falling in 1975, right? Who's talking rag tag militias trying conventional armed conflict? We have SOCOM and Low Intensity Conflict has it's own branch in the U.S. Army for a good reason. I know what I'm talking about. And I know what sort of efforts in the worst case scenario get results, because they have a history of accomplishing the mission.
The Vietcong and the North Vietnamese were a seasoned professional army fighting the Japanese and the French before that was supplied with top line weapons from the Eastern Block nations (and with their money as well). To say the VC were rag tag primitives is bunk.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I'm not saying they were rag tag primatives. You miss the point. I'm saying we can do the same thing here and will if we have to.
That kind of asymmetric warfare would destroy the American character:
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
LOL! BOY are YOU ever misnamed. You craven libTURD pussy.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Yep. Btw, I wonder how many of these gun grabbing libTURD pussies even have the basic knowledge of Swiss history? LOL! Ah heck, we all know none of them has even a clue about it. Let me give em a hint. The Swiss and the Tibetians have this in common.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
LOL! They certainly are. They are solid pro GOOBERMENT having firearms. They don't consider the mere people to be capable of having them however. You are a gibbering fool.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
All the best handgun manufacturers are European socialists.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
LOL! You know as much about handguns as you know about life, which is ZERO. COLT, RUGER, SPRINGFIELD, KIMBER, FREEDOM ARMS, ... etc are "european socialists"? LMAO!!!!!!!!! You really are a stupid libTURD butthole.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
You mean the obsolete scrubs? "Glock now controls an estimated 60 percent of the police market today with SIG and Beretta taking sizeable chunks from Smith's pie." SOCIALIST EUROPEANS FOR THE WIN!!!!!
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
You mean Remington Arms Company, Inc., not Springfield. Other than that, you are correct that the United States has very quality oriented firearms companies that do a booming business. Naturally as I am originally from Connecticut, I am very familiar with this industry as it is a huge one there. I also used to own a Mossberg bicycle, which was made by that particular Connecticut manufacturer of rifles in the 1970s.
Many of the companies he mentioned have profitable niche markets and still do government contracts for firearms, though some European firms have been successfully bidding on some of those contracts. I have a glock and like it well enough, bit I still much prefer a well machined firearm made completely of metal than a light plastic rich wonder like my old choice for a sidearm was when I was a helicopter crewchief in the 82nd Airborne Division.
And lots more, including Kahr Arms and S&W, both in "Gun Valley" in the NE.
Americans still make OK guns designed a hundred years ago.....
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
LOL! As I have already stated libTURD, you know nothing about handguns. "Obsolete"! LOL! YOU are a gibbering fool.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
I did not mean the list to be all inclusive. Also, I was thinking about good pistols mostly. IMO Mossberg is under rated gear. Just ask almost 30% of all police depts. The 500 series is awesome and the current issue 12ga is the Mossberg 590 and it's variants and it was the ONLY shotgun to qualify under the new requirements.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
My apologies to all quality American firearms companies. I did not mean the list to be all inclusive. I was thinking about good pistols which I have owned and/or had personal experience with mostly. I wasn't sure of what S&W's current ownership is which is why I left it out.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
LOL! You are a deeply ignorant libTURD fool g wizz! ROTFLMAOAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Get lost drunky
Comments (42 - 55) not displayed.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestBetween 1.2 million and 4.5 million firearms are estimated to be in circulation in Switzerland, putting the Alpine country behind only the U.S. and Yemen in guns per capita.
#2. To: lucysmom (#1)
The Afghanis seem to be well armed.
#3. To: hondo68 (#2)
Who could have guessed that they'd use them to repel American invaders too? /s
#4. To: lucysmom (#1)
#5. To: Mad Dog (#4)
#6. To: Mad Dog, A K A Stone, Murron (#4)
You stupid libTURD whore.
#7. To: John Hancock, Mad Dog, A K A Stone (#6)
(Edited)
"OK Mutt.... go growl at your hill-billie granny, Murron".
#8. To: Murron (#7)
#9. To: A K A Stone (#8)
#10. To: Fred Mertz (#9)
#11. To: A K A Stone (#10)
#12. To: hondo68, lucysmom, Mad Dog, John Hancock, Murron, A K A Stone, Fred Mertz (#0)
For decades, Swiss militiamen kept their army-issued firearms stashed in closets or under beds at home.
#13. To: Godwinson (#12)
#14. To: Murron (#13)
#15. To: Ferret Mike (#14)
I carry this under powered revolver with only six rounds.
#16. To: hondo68 (#15)
#17. To: Murron (#13)
(Edited)
I believe it is the socialists who trust the UN that don't care if our weapons are confiscated, they honestly (ignorantly) believe it is the right thing to do to save lives.
#18. To: Godwinson (#17)
#19. To: Ferret Mike (#18)
(Edited)
We need guns because the government should fear it's people, not the people their government.
#20. To: Godwinson (#19)
(Edited)
#21. To: Ferret Mike (#20)
#22. To: Godwinson (#21)
#23. To: Ferret Mike (#22)
Heh, which is why all our billions and war dead and wounded kept Saigon from falling in 1975, right?
#24. To: Godwinson (#23)
#25. To: Ferret Mike (#24)
#26. To: John Hancock (#6)
#27. To: hondo68 (#5)
#28. To: Godwinson (#12)
Socialists are pro gun ownership.
#29. To: Mad Dog (#28)
#30. To: Ferret Mike, Mad Dog (#29)
(Edited)
#31. To: Godwinson (#30)
All the best handgun manufacturers are European socialists.
#32. To: Mad Dog (#31)
COLT, RUGER, SPRINGFIELD, KIMBER, FREEDOM ARMS, ... etc are "european socialists"?
#33. To: Mad Dog (#31)
#34. To: Godwinson (#32)
#35. To: Mad Dog (#31)
COLT, RUGER, SPRINGFIELD, KIMBER, FREEDOM ARMS
#36. To: Ferret Mike, hondo68 (#34)
"Glock now controls an estimated 60 percent of the police market today with SIG and Beretta taking sizeable chunks from Smith's pie."
#37. To: Godwinson (#32)
#38. To: Ferret Mike (#33)
#39. To: hondo68 (#35)
#40. To: Godwinson, hondo68 (#36)
Americans still make OK guns designed a hundred years ago.....
#41. To: Mad Dog (#27)
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