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Swiss take to guns often

Guns are omnipresent in this Alpine country — some estimates run to at least one for every three of its 7.5 million inhabitants.

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ZURICH : Switzerland is one of the world’s richest and most tranquil countries, but it also has more suicides than most. This may show that money doesn’t buy happiness, but some Swiss also blame the guns.

Guns are omnipresent in this Alpine country — some estimates run to at least one for every three of its 7.5 million inhabitants. Many are stored in people’s attics, a legacy of its famed policy of arming its men to defend its neutrality.   

Now the country is debating whether it should continue to arm its citizens, a practice which has helped it escape the need for a large standing army but flooded the country with weapons. “Compared to countries abroad, a large number of suicides involve firearms ... And that’s of course because it is easier to get hold of guns here,” said Boris Banga, a socialist member of parliament who wants stricter laws.   

There are 2.5 million guns in Switzerland, making the Alpine nation one of Europe’s most heavily armed together with Austria, Germany and Finland.

A survey by the Blick popular newspaper last month showed 66 per cent wanted guns out of Swiss attics, while 77 per cent said there was no need to store both guns and ammunition at home in order to defend the country.

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