The Swiss Parliament has blocked a government proposal to introduce mandatory registration for all firearms, including those obtained before 2008. Currently, there are an estimated 2 million firearms in Switzerland, but only those acquired by citizens after 2008 must be recorded in cantonal registries.
Mandatory registration supporters argued for the measure to increase firearm safety. “In Switzerland we register cars. It is odd not to do it for guns whose primary aim is to kill. It would allow us to save lives and avoid family shootings,” said Green Party Sen. Luc Recordon.
The Swiss have rejected sweeping gun restrictions before, such as the 2011 proposal to ban automatic weapons and introduce a licensing system. Universal registration critics maintain that complete safety is impossible, that only law-abiding citizens would register their firearms and that the measure would introduce unnecessary bureaucratic red tape.
