Police: Man killed in home by Aurora PD Monday morning had fatally shot intruder minutes earlier

[Brain357]

And had the police entered the room more lives would have been saved.

And how many people die from mass shootings a year...about 75.

How many times are guns used to stop violent rapes, robberies and murders each year...2.4 million.

Which number is bigger?

More lives would have been saved if all he had was a derringer obviously.

Our homicide rates is 4-5X that of countries with strong gun control.

London's murder rate surpasses New York's for 1st time ever

Yes NYC has very strong gun control. Our murder rate would go down if the country had the same laws as NYC.

UK has one of the strictest gun control laws in the world.

Gun control and ownership laws

Canada has all the gun control that our gun grabbers want...and their gun crime rate is going up too....thanks to immigration.

Homicide rates:
US: 5.35
Canada: 1.68

 

[Brain357]

Our homicide rate is 4-5X that of countries with strong gun control. I don't understand how you can sleep at night pushing so much death.

Do you have a family member who can get you to a meeting? You need help.

Homicide rates do not depend on gun ownership...

Does Gun Control Reduce Murder? Let’s Run The Numbers Globally



Let’s look at the countries with the highest concentrations of gun ownership (excluding Yemen and Iraq as active war zones). Guns per murder in those countries are,

1. United States at 20,967,
2. Uruguay at 3,777,
3. Norway at 55,893,
4. France at 19,747,
5. Austria at 59,608,
6. Germany at 35,647,
7. Switzerland at 35,435,
8. New Zealand at 24,835, and
9. Greece at 26,471.

Norway is a particularly interesting example. It has 10 times the gun ownership rate of the United Kingdom, but only half the murder rate.

When one excludes Iraq and Yemen, not one of the countries on the list of the 10 highest rates of gun ownership also appears on the list of the top ten highest murder rates. In fact, the countries with the highest murder rates have markedly low gun ownership rates.

1. El Savador (108.64 murders per 100,000/5800 guns per 100,000)
2. Honduras (63.75/6200)
3. Venezuela (57.15/10,700)
4. Jamaica (43.21/8,100)
5. Lesotho (38/2,700)
6. Belize (34.4/10,000)
7. South Africa (34.27/12,700)
8. Guatemala (31.21/13,100)
9. Trinidad (30.88/1,600)
10. Bahamas (29.81/5,300)

It really doesn’t matter how you slice this data.

The conclusion is inescapable: High concentrations of private, legal gun ownership do not correlate positively to increased murders. Indeed, you can look at almost any slice of data and conclude the opposite: Higher private ownership of guns can be strongly correlated to lower murder rates.

The data also exposes some myths I have heard about gun control. For example, I’ve heard activists tout Australia, which supposedly banned all guns. Australia has advanced a number of gun control measures over the years. Nevertheless, according to the data, Australia has a rate of private ownership of guns of 13,100 per 100,000 and a murder rate of .98.

Australia has almost twice as many guns per capita as the United Kingdom, for example, and a comparable murder rate. New Zealand has almost twice as many guns per capita as Australia but a lower crime rate.

Countries with both a low rate of private gun ownership and a low murder rate exist, but they are clearly data outliers.

These include the Netherlands (3,900 guns per 100,000, for a murder rate of .61) the United Kingdom (6,200 guns per 100,000, for a murder rate of .92), Japan, and Portugal. Places like Norway, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany overwhelm those examples because they all have high rates of gun ownership and enviable crime rates.

-------

The ratio of murders per gun works as a decent measure for how responsible a country’s citizens are with their firearms. Measured in this light, an owner of a private legal gun in America measures as one of the most responsible in the world. A gun in America is 387 times less likely to be used in a murder than in El Salvador. Even in Japan, which has one of the lowest murder and gun ownership rates in the world, there are ten times as many murders per gun than in America.

Our homicide rate is 4-5X any country with strong gun control.

correlation doesn't equal causation.

Some countries with strict gun control, like mexico, have terrible homicide rates.

Mexico is not politically or economically stable. They do not have the ability to enforce laws.

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

 

[toobfreak]

A sad incident. But it really shows what happens when too many people are armed. Imagine police responding to a mass shooting with lots of armed individuals.

It shows what happens when you get cops involved entering a situation where they don't know a thing going on and just shoot anyone with a gun even if it's not pointed at them. Things were under control until police arrived. Lastly, if you had a lot of armed individuals, you wouldn't have a mass shooting in the first place; there has never been a single mass shooting where it wasn't just one armed assailant against a bunch of UNARMED people. If everyone were actually armed, the attacker never would have attacked, but even if he did, they would all be shooting back at ONE THING: the attacker.

As for the police, Parkland has shown they'd just wait outside smoking cigarettes waiting for a SWAT team to arrive. Guns save lives. Police shoot wantonly because they have no accountability.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Here is a bunch of armed victims:
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers - Wikipedia
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.

Good point! BLM is a terrorist group that should be rounded up.

You realize many cop killers are just angry white gun owners?

Many cop killers are angry black gun owners. So which do you want to ban, angry people, black and white people or just all gun owners? Banning guns is NOT an option------ you want that, you have your pick of any other country you wish to choose. It has been shown over and over and OVER that guns are NOT the problem, if you simply eliminate a very few democratically run liberal cities, you move the USA to one of the safest places in the world.

Want to stop most violence? BAN LIBERALS.

 

[toobfreak]

More lives would have been saved if all he had was a derringer obviously.

Our homicide rates is 4-5X that of countries with strong gun control.

London's murder rate surpasses New York's for 1st time ever

Yes NYC has very strong gun control. Our murder rate would go down if the country had the same laws as NYC.

UK has one of the strictest gun control laws in the world.

Gun control and ownership laws

Canada has all the gun control that our gun grabbers want...and their gun crime rate is going up too....thanks to immigration.

Homicide rates:
US: 5.35
Canada: 1.68

Move to Canada if you think they are so great.

 

[martybegan]

Do you have a family member who can get you to a meeting? You need help.

Homicide rates do not depend on gun ownership...

Does Gun Control Reduce Murder? Let’s Run The Numbers Globally



Let’s look at the countries with the highest concentrations of gun ownership (excluding Yemen and Iraq as active war zones). Guns per murder in those countries are,

1. United States at 20,967,
2. Uruguay at 3,777,
3. Norway at 55,893,
4. France at 19,747,
5. Austria at 59,608,
6. Germany at 35,647,
7. Switzerland at 35,435,
8. New Zealand at 24,835, and
9. Greece at 26,471.

Norway is a particularly interesting example. It has 10 times the gun ownership rate of the United Kingdom, but only half the murder rate.

When one excludes Iraq and Yemen, not one of the countries on the list of the 10 highest rates of gun ownership also appears on the list of the top ten highest murder rates. In fact, the countries with the highest murder rates have markedly low gun ownership rates.

1. El Savador (108.64 murders per 100,000/5800 guns per 100,000)
2. Honduras (63.75/6200)
3. Venezuela (57.15/10,700)
4. Jamaica (43.21/8,100)
5. Lesotho (38/2,700)
6. Belize (34.4/10,000)
7. South Africa (34.27/12,700)
8. Guatemala (31.21/13,100)
9. Trinidad (30.88/1,600)
10. Bahamas (29.81/5,300)

It really doesn’t matter how you slice this data.

The conclusion is inescapable: High concentrations of private, legal gun ownership do not correlate positively to increased murders. Indeed, you can look at almost any slice of data and conclude the opposite: Higher private ownership of guns can be strongly correlated to lower murder rates.

The data also exposes some myths I have heard about gun control. For example, I’ve heard activists tout Australia, which supposedly banned all guns. Australia has advanced a number of gun control measures over the years. Nevertheless, according to the data, Australia has a rate of private ownership of guns of 13,100 per 100,000 and a murder rate of .98.

Australia has almost twice as many guns per capita as the United Kingdom, for example, and a comparable murder rate. New Zealand has almost twice as many guns per capita as Australia but a lower crime rate.

Countries with both a low rate of private gun ownership and a low murder rate exist, but they are clearly data outliers.

These include the Netherlands (3,900 guns per 100,000, for a murder rate of .61) the United Kingdom (6,200 guns per 100,000, for a murder rate of .92), Japan, and Portugal. Places like Norway, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany overwhelm those examples because they all have high rates of gun ownership and enviable crime rates.

-------

The ratio of murders per gun works as a decent measure for how responsible a country’s citizens are with their firearms. Measured in this light, an owner of a private legal gun in America measures as one of the most responsible in the world. A gun in America is 387 times less likely to be used in a murder than in El Salvador. Even in Japan, which has one of the lowest murder and gun ownership rates in the world, there are ten times as many murders per gun than in America.

Our homicide rate is 4-5X any country with strong gun control.

correlation doesn't equal causation.

Some countries with strict gun control, like mexico, have terrible homicide rates.

Mexico is not politically or economically stable. They do not have the ability to enforce laws.

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

 

[Brain357]

Our homicide rate is 4-5X any country with strong gun control.

correlation doesn't equal causation.

Some countries with strict gun control, like mexico, have terrible homicide rates.

Mexico is not politically or economically stable. They do not have the ability to enforce laws.

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

 

[Brain357]

A sad incident. But it really shows what happens when too many people are armed. Imagine police responding to a mass shooting with lots of armed individuals.

It shows what happens when you get cops involved entering a situation where they don't know a thing going on and just shoot anyone with a gun even if it's not pointed at them. Things were under control until police arrived. Lastly, if you had a lot of armed individuals, you wouldn't have a mass shooting in the first place; there has never been a single mass shooting where it wasn't just one armed assailant against a bunch of UNARMED people. If everyone were actually armed, the attacker never would have attacked, but even if he did, they would all be shooting back at ONE THING: the attacker.

As for the police, Parkland has shown they'd just wait outside smoking cigarettes waiting for a SWAT team to arrive. Guns save lives. Police shoot wantonly because they have no accountability.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Here is a bunch of armed victims:
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers - Wikipedia
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.

Good point! BLM is a terrorist group that should be rounded up.

You realize many cop killers are just angry white gun owners?

Many cop killers are angry black gun owners. So which do you want to ban, angry people, black and white people or just all gun owners? Banning guns is NOT an option------ you want that, you have your pick of any other country you wish to choose. It has been shown over and over and OVER that guns are NOT the problem, if you simply eliminate a very few democratically run liberal cities, you move the USA to one of the safest places in the world.

Want to stop most violence? BAN LIBERALS.

Actually, guns are clearly the problem.

 

[martybegan]

correlation doesn't equal causation.

Some countries with strict gun control, like mexico, have terrible homicide rates.

Mexico is not politically or economically stable. They do not have the ability to enforce laws.

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

 

[Brain357]

Mexico is not politically or economically stable. They do not have the ability to enforce laws.

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

 

[Biff_Poindexter]

AURORA, Colo. – Police confirmed Monday afternoon that the man they shot and killed early Monday morning is believed to have shot and killed another man who had broken into his home minutes earlier.

“Officers arrived to a very chaotic and violent scene,” Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz wrote in a news release issued Monday afternoon.

Metz said officers who arrived at the scene heard gunshots inside the home and ran into an armed man. An officer shot the man, who died at an area hospital.

After clearing the scene, according to Metz, officers found a juvenile injured inside and a man shot dead on the bathroom floor. The child was taken to a hospital for “serious, but non-life-threatening injuries” caused by the intruder, he said.

Both men’s identities will be released by the Adams County Coroner’s Office, Metz said. The officer who shot the resident of the home is on standard paid administrative leave.

Police: Man killed in home by Aurora PD Monday morning had fatally shot intruder minutes earlier

A sad incident. But it really shows what happens when too many people are armed. Imagine police responding to a mass shooting with lots of armed individuals.

...fact of the matter remains, the guy had a chance to protect himself and his home -- the rest is tragic, but tragedy happens sometimes.

 

[Weatherman2020]

More lives would have been saved if all he had was a derringer obviously.

Our homicide rates is 4-5X that of countries with strong gun control.

London's murder rate surpasses New York's for 1st time ever

Yes NYC has very strong gun control. Our murder rate would go down if the country had the same laws as NYC.

UK has one of the strictest gun control laws in the world.

Gun control and ownership laws

Canada has all the gun control that our gun grabbers want...and their gun crime rate is going up too....thanks to immigration.

Homicide rates:
US: 5.35
Canada: 1.68

Canada has few Democrats.

 

[Weatherman2020]

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

And Switzerland everyone under 65 has a fully automatic weapon at home.

 

[toobfreak]

It shows what happens when you get cops involved entering a situation where they don't know a thing going on and just shoot anyone with a gun even if it's not pointed at them. Things were under control until police arrived. Lastly, if you had a lot of armed individuals, you wouldn't have a mass shooting in the first place; there has never been a single mass shooting where it wasn't just one armed assailant against a bunch of UNARMED people. If everyone were actually armed, the attacker never would have attacked, but even if he did, they would all be shooting back at ONE THING: the attacker.

As for the police, Parkland has shown they'd just wait outside smoking cigarettes waiting for a SWAT team to arrive. Guns save lives. Police shoot wantonly because they have no accountability.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Here is a bunch of armed victims:
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers - Wikipedia
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.

And you have been beaten on this one over and over.

The man attacked from an ambush with surprise..... he was quickly cornered and contained...

What you don't want to talk about is that there were dozens of armed citizens in that march. Many had AR-15 rifles on their shoulders during that march and when the attack happened, the police did not shoot them, they did not shoot the police, the armed citizens moved out of the way and let the Black Lives Matter shooter be dealt with by the police..

So you just negated your original post..... a mass public shooting, with dozens of armed citizens, many with AR-15 rifles, and no law abiding gun owner was shot by mistake.....

He killed 5 armed officers and injured 9 other armed officers. Yes the victims were all very ARMED.

And all the open carry guys at that march ran screaming like little girls.

Wow...the stupid is strong with you...... those armed citizens showed that you guys don't know what you are talking about...they did not react the way you said they would react, taking the law in their own hands, getting in the way, getting shot by police, shooting police...

They saw the attack, and got out of the way and let the police do their jobs.... they did exactly as we keep telling you they would do..... and you now have to try to spin it to keep your lie going.

WASTED BREATH, 2a. People who are anti-gun are so mainly for one reason: guns SCARE THEM because they know they'd be dangerous in THEIR hands.

 

[toobfreak]

It shows what happens when you get cops involved entering a situation where they don't know a thing going on and just shoot anyone with a gun even if it's not pointed at them. Things were under control until police arrived. Lastly, if you had a lot of armed individuals, you wouldn't have a mass shooting in the first place; there has never been a single mass shooting where it wasn't just one armed assailant against a bunch of UNARMED people. If everyone were actually armed, the attacker never would have attacked, but even if he did, they would all be shooting back at ONE THING: the attacker.

As for the police, Parkland has shown they'd just wait outside smoking cigarettes waiting for a SWAT team to arrive. Guns save lives. Police shoot wantonly because they have no accountability.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Here is a bunch of armed victims:
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers - Wikipedia
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.

Good point! BLM is a terrorist group that should be rounded up.

You realize many cop killers are just angry white gun owners?

Many cop killers are angry black gun owners. So which do you want to ban, angry people, black and white people or just all gun owners? Banning guns is NOT an option------ you want that, you have your pick of any other country you wish to choose. It has been shown over and over and OVER that guns are NOT the problem, if you simply eliminate a very few democratically run liberal cities, you move the USA to one of the safest places in the world.

Want to stop most violence? BAN LIBERALS.

Actually, guns are clearly the problem.

ACTUALLY, if you really had a brain, you'd know that idiots like YOU are the only problem. Guns stay. You may leave.

 

[Brain357]

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

And Switzerland everyone under 65 has a fully automatic weapon at home.

Should we take up their gun laws then?

 

[martybegan]

More goalpost moving....

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

You have zero proof of either of your statements. You are assuming a causal link where there is none in both cases.

Every male Swiss citizen keeps an ACTUAL battle rifle in his house if he is part of the militia. how does that translate to Swiss criminal gun ownership?

 

[Brain357]

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. Here is a bunch of armed victims:
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers - Wikipedia
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.

And you have been beaten on this one over and over.

The man attacked from an ambush with surprise..... he was quickly cornered and contained...

What you don't want to talk about is that there were dozens of armed citizens in that march. Many had AR-15 rifles on their shoulders during that march and when the attack happened, the police did not shoot them, they did not shoot the police, the armed citizens moved out of the way and let the Black Lives Matter shooter be dealt with by the police..

So you just negated your original post..... a mass public shooting, with dozens of armed citizens, many with AR-15 rifles, and no law abiding gun owner was shot by mistake.....

He killed 5 armed officers and injured 9 other armed officers. Yes the victims were all very ARMED.

And all the open carry guys at that march ran screaming like little girls.

Wow...the stupid is strong with you...... those armed citizens showed that you guys don't know what you are talking about...they did not react the way you said they would react, taking the law in their own hands, getting in the way, getting shot by police, shooting police...

They saw the attack, and got out of the way and let the police do their jobs.... they did exactly as we keep telling you they would do..... and you now have to try to spin it to keep your lie going.

WASTED BREATH, 2a. People who are anti-gun are so mainly for one reason: guns SCARE THEM because they know they'd be dangerous in THEIR hands.

Some people are smart enough to see all the problems due to having too many guns. They are many.

 

[pismoe]

More lives would have been saved if all he had was a derringer obviously.

Our homicide rates is 4-5X that of countries with strong gun control.

London's murder rate surpasses New York's for 1st time ever

Yes NYC has very strong gun control. Our murder rate would go down if the country had the same laws as NYC.

UK has one of the strictest gun control laws in the world.

Gun control and ownership laws

Canada has all the gun control that our gun grabbers want...and their gun crime rate is going up too....thanks to immigration.

Homicide rates:
US: 5.35
Canada: 1.68

--------------------------------------- 'canada' isn't America . its full of the 'tory' bloodline and genes from ' 1960 draft dodgers' from the USA Brian .

 

[Brain357]

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

You have zero proof of either of your statements. You are assuming a causal link where there is none in both cases.

Every male Swiss citizen keeps an ACTUAL battle rifle in his house if he is part of the militia. how does that translate to Swiss criminal gun ownership?

You want to take up their gun laws then?

 

[Brain357]

Sorry that facts are a problem for you. Gun control is not strong without the ability to enforce it.

Wow, you just keep digging yourself a hole. so you are saying that gun control doesn't work when people decide they don't want to follow the law?

Gun control needs a police force capable of enforcing the laws, yes. Mexico does not have that. Japan does.

What Japan has is a criminal class that does not want to use guns in confrontations with the police. They avoid the police.

There is little demand for guns in Japan. it's a cultural thing, not a law thing. The Yakuza could easily get firearms and use them if it saw fit, regardless of the laws.

Yes, little demand by criminals because there is low gun ownership with the lawful. Lots of lawful ownership guarantees lots of criminal ownership.

You have zero proof of either of your statements. You are assuming a causal link where there is none in both cases.

Every male Swiss citizen keeps an ACTUAL battle rifle in his house if he is part of the militia. how does that translate to Swiss criminal gun ownership?

The Truth About Guns in Switzerland - The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

In Switzerland, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 30 are conscripted for three months and issued either an assault rifle or a 9mm pistol (the automatic or rapid-fire function is removed from these firearms so they fire only in semiautomatic mode) after completing basic military training. These firearms are kept in the home and are to be used only for military purposes, not for sports shooting or personal defense. After initial training, members of the militia are required to do three or four weeks of military service a year until they have served a total of 260 days or reached age 34. Additionally, a law enacted in 2008 requires all army ammunition issued to militia members to be stored in a central arsenal. This citizen €™s militia complements a small number of full-time military personnel to constitute Switzerland €™s army.

Many Swiss men buy their service firearms after they finish military service. Since January 2010, however, they are required to obtain a permit to do so, and must provide some justification for keeping the gun.

[Editor €™s note: Swiss women may volunteer to serve in the armed forces and can now join all units, including combat troops. Currently 1,050 women are active-duty members of the Swiss military.]

Laws governing the private ownership of firearms are equally strict. In 1999, a federal law on arms, arms accessories, and ammunition (the Arms Act) came into effect. The Arms Act requires a permit for each transaction involving firearms or relevant parts of firearms purchased from an authorized dealer’s shop. Permits for purchasing firearms are issued by the cantons. Buyers are carefully screened and have to meet a number of requirements (i.e., minimum 18 years of age, absence of any apparent risk to the buyer or third persons, no entry in the Register of Convictions for violent crimes and/or misdemeanors, etc.). Subsequent transfers of firearms among private individuals have to be documented through a written contract, which must be kept for at least ten years. Additionally, several cantons require citizens to register firearms.

Any person wishing to carry a gun in public must obtain a separate, special permit from their canton. The screening process is essentially the same as for the purchase of firearms. In addition, applicants must demonstrate a legitimate need to protect themselves, other persons, or goods against specificrisks. Applicants must further pass two tests, one on the correct handling of firearms and one on legislation concerning the use of firearms. Permits are valid for five years. Certain exceptions to these rules are made for hunters, those performing military service, and those participating in shooting events.