At the forefront of those calling for more restrictions are thousands of students who were attended the “March for Our Lives” demonstrations in Washington, DC and other cities on March 24.
Strangely, very few analysts cite the example of Switzerland, one of the countries with the highest rates of gun ownership in the world. It has an overall murder rate of near zero.
As Business Insider by science reporter Hilary Brueck noted: Switzerland has not really experienced a mass shooting.
In the nation of 8.3 million people, there are some two million privately owned guns. Despite this large number of weapons in private hands, the overall murder rate is near zero.
Traditional gun-related events remain popular in Switzerland, such as the Knabenschiessen, a traditional target shooting competition in Zürich every September. The festival has officially been held since 1889, but unofficially dates back to the 17th century and was first mentioned in a document in 1656, Business Insider reported.
The Alpine country has remained neutral for over 200 years and has not taken part in any international armed conflicts since 1815.
The country has always strived to maintain its defense and military service therefore remains compulsory for male citizens under the constitution.
Soldiers take their guns home with them. During a nationwide vote in February 2011 the Swiss even rejected the notion of central gun registry, a strict licensing system for the use of firearms, a ban on the purchase of automatic weapons and a ban on keeping army-issue guns at home.
Switzerland, being free of gun violence, provides an excellent example that gun control is not the solution to mass shootings.