Increasing Gun Purchases in Switzerland: Uncovering the Reasons Behind This Trend
Here's the deal:
According to 20 Minuten's report, several Swiss cantons have dished out a higher number of firearm permits in 2024 compared to previous years. For instance, Lucerne leads the pack, issuing 43 percent more permits than last year, though a sizable chunk of these went to cops hanging onto their old service weapons.
Other cantons belly up similar numbers:
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden: 304 new permits, a 35.7% spike
- Appenzell Innerrhoden: 167 permits, up 12.8%
- Solothurn: 1,122, an 11.5% increase
- Basel-City: 670, up 7.7%
- Basel-Country: 1,953, a 5.7% lift
- Glarus: 182 new permits, 4% more than usual
- Thurgau: 734, a 5.6% hike
- Uri: 111 more permits, 2.8% more
(Naah, numbers for other cantons weren't shared in the report.)
Why the sudden appetite for firearms, ya ask?
No official stats yet, but the mess in Eastern Europe seems to be a prime suspect.
A cantonal cop from Appenzell Ausserrhoden, where a 35.7% permit surge occurred, thinks it's the "general sense of insecurity" at play. The St. Gallen Cantonal Police shares this view.
But let's not forget about ol' faithful - targets!
Alexander Ambauen, a gun shop owner in Beckenried, canton Nidwalden, swears it's the shooting sports that fuel the firearm frenzy. He reckons it's because the Swiss Shooting Sports Federation relaxed their rules, allowing any brand and type of pistol for competitions, as long as it fits into a test box and blasts .9mm rounds.
What's a gun permit for?
Simple: To grab yourself a pistol, semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, or pump-action weapon, or a revolver, you gotta apply for a gun permit. Submit your app to the firearms office in the canton you live. If you're a Swiss citizen, you're usually cool with a weapon if:
- You're at least 18
- No one thinks you'll use that gun to shiv yourself or others
- No criminal record for violence or endangering public safety or multiple felonies or misdemeanors.
Find the nitty-gritty here.
Oh, and some weapons, like airsoft guns, blank-firing pistols, paintball guns, or hand-held repeating rifles for hunting, need a written contract.
Taboo weapons include semi-automatic rifles, serial firearms, stun guns, butterfly knives, and daggers with symmetrical blades. Some exceptions might be granted for these bad boys, for example, for sport shooters or collectors.
What if you're a foreign resident?
If you've got a C permit, your gun rights are the same as the Swiss.
For everyone else without long-term residency, you'll need a weapons acquisition permit for all gun types, and prove you can legally own the weapon or main components from your canton of residence or home country.
However, residents of Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, and Turkey can't buy guns or components without a C permit.
READ MORE: Can foreign residents in Switzerland own guns?
- In Solothurn, the number of firearm permits increased by 11.5% in 2024, indicating a trend among Swiss cantons.
- Financial institutions might be interested to note that the increasing trend in firearm permits in Switzerland could be linked to the instability in Eastern Europe, potentially driving demand for guns and related businesses.
- According to gun regulations in Basel, foreign residents with a C permit can maintain the same gun rights as Swiss citizens, while others need to abide by stricter regulations, including obtaining a weapons acquisition permit and proving legality of the weapon in their canton of residence or home country.
