The Swiss, Guns, and Crime

Nice take-down of the use by American gun enthusiasts of statistics about Switzerland, gun ownership, and the crime rate.

The meme in question can be found here: http://www.anonymousartofrevolution.com/2012/10/switzerland-1-in-2-citizens-has-guns.html  You can find similar images and statistic blocks all around the Internet.

(h/t +Kee Hinckley)

Reshared post from +Andrew Pam

+Syrus Drake posted this privately in response to an image macro saying "Switzerland: 1 in 2 citizens has guns, lowest crime rate in world".  Reposted with permission:
 
Okay, I'm feeling very, very uncomfortable with my country being used by American weapon enthusiasts to argue for their weird cause.

Both parts of that statement are technically true but especially the distribution of firearms amongst the population and the way rifles are handled need to be examined closer.

First of all, probably around 80-90% of those guns are SIG 550, the standard rifle of the Swiss military. If you’re part of the militia, you may just keep that thing at home. As soon as you’re discharged, you can get it for cheap. So people don’t really want it, they usually just get it. In fact, most members of the army who live in the civilised-urban parts of Switzerland are trying to get rid of the thing as soon as possible. And people who decide to keep it do so for recreational or practical reasons (so you don’t have to get it from the arsenal for mandatory shooting). Also, you’re not getting any ammunition anymore. If you’re going to the range, for recreational or mandatory shooting, you are allowed to carry the SIG 550 and certain other guns but they must not be loaded.
You can BUY a weapon relatively easy but if you want to CARRY a loaded weapon, you need to get a special permit. For that you mustn’t have a criminal record, you need to take a test (!!!) and you have to explain what you need the weapon for and against which concrete threat you want to defend yourself. So “To protect my family” doesn’t count.

Basically, nobody is carrying a weapon in Switzerland. Many people OWN one and you often see people TRANSPORTING one, but nobody is actually carrying a loaded weapon. I know many people who have guns and who regularly use them on the range. In fact, one of my closest friends is a really skilled shooter and all family members shoot as well and are members of the local shooting association. But neither they nor any other person I ever talked to has ever rationalized their weapons with “I need them to protect myself and my family”. They ALL just have it for recreational uses.

Yes, Switzerland has one of the highest gun densities in the world. And one of the lowest crimes rates in the world. But you know what else it has? A high social security. High average income, mandatory, cheap healthcare, high education standards, systems to reintegrate criminals into society and so on and so forth. That’s the reason why Switzerland has low crime rates.

And we have our police, of course. People who are trained to prevent crime (and use guns, if absolutely necessary)! Nobody in their right mind would use their SIG 550 (or any other gun) to defend their home against burglars. You know what we all do in that case? We call the police!

We don’t have dozens of shootings in our cities every week, not because everyone is carrying a gun but because NOBODY is carrying a gun. So possible violence doesn’t escalate.

Yes, both statements here are true but there’s no, I repeat NO correlation whatsoever.

So please, American gun nuts enthusiasts: Make whatever argument you want. You can even disregard those pesky “rational” and “factual” aspects.

But please, please, leave my country out of it. We don’t want anything to do with your cause.