Firearms regulation in Switzerland

[note 2][6] The acquisition of fully automatic weapons, suppressors and target lasers requires special permits issued by the cantonal firearms office.

[8] The applicable federal legislations are SR 514.54 Federal Law on Weapons, Weapon Equipment and Ammunition (German: Waffengesetz, WG, French: Loi sur les armes, LArm, Italian: Legge sulle armi, LArm) of 20 June 1997 (current edition of 15 August 2019),[6] and SR 514.541 Ordinance on Weapons, Armament Accessories and Ammunition (German: Waffenverordnung, WV, French: Ordonnance sur les armes, OArm, Italian: Ordinanza sulle armi, OArm) of 2 July 2008 (current edition of 15 August 2019).

[note 3][6] Swiss gun culture has emerged from a long tradition of shooting (tirs), which served as a formative element of national identity in the post-Napoleonic Restoration of the Confederacy,[9] and the long-standing practice of a militia organization of the Swiss Army in which soldiers' service rifles are usually stored privately at their homes (it became the choice of the soldier in 2010[10]).

What started as a gun culture centered around defense of the country through military duty also became a target shooting and collecting one.

[12] However, in a 2019 referendum voters opted to conform with European Union regulations which restrict the acquisition of semi-automatic firearms with high-capacity magazines.

[19] A recent study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences released in 2023 revealed that the most commonly owned guns are handguns (caliber>.22lr) (85%) with semi-automatic rifles in close second (76%).

Switzerland's Weapons Law (WG, LArm)[6] and Weapons Act (WV, OArm)[2] has been revised to accede to the Schengen Treaty effective 12 December 2008, and modified in 2019 after a referendum from the Swiss population to implement the European Firearms Directive which was added in the Schengen agreement.

Foreigners with sole citizenship to the following countries are explicitly excluded from the right to buy, sell and own weapons and their parts unless they ask for an exceptional authorization to the state: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania.

8 WG/LArm): The following weapons can be acquired with a may-issue acquisition permit that can be issued for professional requirements, in particular with regard to carrying out protection duties, such as protecting persons, critical infrastructure or the transport of valuables; recreational target shooting; collecting; National defence requirements; Educational, cultural, research or historical purposes (art.

13c WV/OArm): The following weapons from the generally prohibited category can be bought with a may-issue exceptional permit for collectors with proof that they are kept in a safe place and protected from access by unauthorised third persons (art.

28e WG/LArm): The following weapons can be bought with a regular may-issue exceptional acquisition permit for professional requirements, use for industrial purposes, compensating for physical handicaps, or collecting (art.

28b WG/LArm): In order to purchase ammunition, the buyer must fulfill the same legal rules that apply when buying guns[note 4] (art.

Foreigners with sole citizenship to the following countries are explicitly excluded from the right to buy and own ammunition: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania.

16 § 1 & 2 WG/LArm) The acquisition and possession of the following ammunition is generally prohibited but can be acquired for reasons such as industrial purposes, hunting or collecting (art.

Zürich, for instance, limits the storage to 300kg of ammunition without permitting from the cantonal fire police (VVB art.

[6] It is, however, quite common to see a person in military service or a sport shooter to be en route with his rifle, albeit unloaded.

In December 2007, the Swiss Federal Council decided that the distribution of ammunition to soldiers would stop and that previously issued ammo would be returned.

Only 2,000 specialist militia members (who protect airports and other sites of particular sensitivity) are permitted to keep their military-issued ammunition at home.

[6][25][26] This followed the murder of Swiss ski champion Corinne Rey-Bellet by her husband, who used his military issued weapon in the killing.

[27] When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of buying their personal Stgw 90 after it has been converted to semi-automatic and keeping other selected items of their equipment.

The sale of military-issued ammunition, including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issued assault rifles, is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many Federal Council licensed shooting ranges.

In 2005, for example, when the Swiss prosecuted recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges was improper use of service weapons.

Every person with Swiss citizenship, aged 10 years or older, can take part at any federal ranges and will be able to shoot for free with the ordinance rifle.

[31] Before the turn of the century, about 200,000 people used to attend the annual Eidgenössisches Feldschiessen, which is the largest rifle shooting competition in the world.

[44] Traditionally liberal Swiss gun legislation has, however, been somewhat tightened in 2008, when Switzerland complied with European Firearms Directive to enter Schengen.

The Directive also includes an exemption covering a specific Swiss issue – it allows possession to a target shooter of one firearm used during the mandatory military period after leaving the army, provided it was converted to semi-automatic only (art.

[53] This part of the Directive specifically was however challenged by the Czech Republic before the European Court of Justice due to its discriminatory nature.

[57] In a referendum held on 19 May 2019, voters supported the stricter EU restrictions on semi-automatic weapons, as recommended by the government.

Similarly, out of 31 attempted homicides with firearms, 25 were committed with handguns, two with long guns and four "other/unspecified", with no use of ordinance weapons on record.