Sunday, January 06, 2013

The Swiss, Guns & Psychiatry


On January 2, 2013 there was a multiple killing in Switzerland.  The shooter was previously identified as a psychiatric case, provided treatment and had his guns taken away from him.  That very heavily armed nation has a military grade (Assault?) rifle in almost every adult, male, citizen's home. They even have "gun registries"---Which did not list him as possessing any guns.  He could not legally buy a gun there without showing a psychiatric "bill of good health". These rules and procedures did not keep him from getting guns.

It appears that his primary weapon was an almost antique rifle (Probably much like that used to kill President Kennedy: and certainly not a fully-automatic and real "assault rifle" or ever a semi-automatic faux "assault rifle".
This story clearly demonstrates that terrorists, "crazies" and other criminals will always be able to find a way to obtain firearms----And, the more accessible WMD which require no technical expertise (As was required of Timothy McVeigh in his gun-less Oklahoma City bombing).

The Swiss, being a most sensible people, will realize that such an exceptional case  does NOT  "prove the/any rule" and will not disarm themselves. The above-noted shooting is an exception as the overall rate of illegal shootings, by citizens, is so low in that nation as to be statistically meaningless. [I understand the same is essentially true in Israel where it is not uncommon to see a man, dressed in civilian clothes, peacefully walking down the street carrying a sub-machine gun.]                                          

PS----MALO PERICULOSAM LIBERTATEM QUAM QUIETUM SERVITIUM

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