Plan to register old guns rejected

A firearm acquired by a Swiss citizen before 2008 will not have to be recorded in a cantonal gun register, parliament has agreed. An estimated two million guns are currently in circulation in Switzerland. On Thursday, the Senate followed the House of Representatives in refusing a government proposal to introduce mandatory gun registration for all firearms, including those acquired before December 2008. At the moment, only guns acquired after 2008 have to be included in cantonal registries. There are an estimated two million firearms in circulation in Switzerland, of which an estimated 750,000 have been recorded. Under the militia system soldiers keep their army-issue weapons at home. Supporters of mandatory gun registration had argued that the police had been calling for this simple 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 ...