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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: 47960
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.
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Swiss Militiaman Shopping
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 44.
#42. To: hondo68 (#0)
Hitler invaded the largely German speaking Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. He invaded the German speaking Austria. However, he never invaded the largely German speaking Switzerland. Why? Because they all had guns in their closet. This is the lesson from history that we must understand.
Why? Because they all had guns in their closet. That's a myth. Hitler nor any German general or statesment ever said that or thought that. Hitler never wanted war with the West. He wanted to move eastward and attack the USSR and take their land. Germany did not declare war on France or the British. It is was those nations that declared war on Germany, which suprised Hitler that they did so on behalf of Poland. All other western battles (from Norway to the Balkans) were a result of Germany securing their flanks. The Allies were planning to invade Norway to block Swedish iron ore. Germany invaded the Balkans because Italy was losing her war against Greece and the English were landing there while he was preparing to invade the USSR. When Hitler thought the war with France and England was almost over he invaded his real target - the USSR. Hitler did not want to rule over all Germans like the Swiss. He wanted to expand eastwards and gain land. Hitler wanting to "liberate" the Sudetenland was racially motivated - the Nazis did not like the idea of so called Aryans ruled by what he thought were sub-human Slavs.
#45. To: Godwinson (#44)
(Edited)
The Armistice is signed on June 22. Under its terms, two thirds of France is to be occupied by the Germans. The French army is to be disbanded. In addition, France must bear the cost of the German invasion. (Hitler's face) "is afire with scorn, anger, hate, revenge, triumph." http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/francesurrenders.htm Hitler knew them treaty obligations that would compel France and Britain to join in. And he was insane, greedy, a megalomaniac and didn't think he would have the trouble he did in trying to conquer Great Britain. I do not agree with you. He made a deal with Stalin to split up Poland, and always planned to betray him. He was also insanely grudgeful about the way WW I went, and had France surrender in the same rail car used to secure surrender signatures of the Germans at the end of that war.
Germany did not declare war on France or the British. You've entirely missed the point as usual. I never mentioned anything about the U.K. or France one. Here is what I DID say: It was Hitler's goal to unify all of the ethnic German in Europe into a "greater-Germany. Hitler DID marched into German-speaking Austria. Hitler DID march into the German-speaking Sudetenland. Hitler never marched into German speaking Switzerland. Why? Because the population was well armed. Those are called facts.
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#44. To: jwpegler, hondo68 (#42)
(Edited)
Hitler invaded the largely German speaking Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. He invaded the German speaking Austria. However, he never invaded the largely German speaking Switzerland.
Replies to Comment # 44. Hitler dictates that the French capitulation take place at Compiegne, a forest north of Paris. This is the same spot where twenty-two years earlier the Germans had signed the Armistice ending World War I. Hitler intends to disgrace the French and avenge the German defeat. To further deepen the humiliation, he orders that the signing ceremony take place in the same railroad car that hosted the earlier surrender.
#52. To: Godwinson (#44)
Hitler never wanted war with the West. He wanted to move eastward and attack the USSR and take their land.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 44.
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