Swiss Activists Invoke William Tell In Their Defiance Of Potential Gun Rules

By Tom Knighton

AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane

Switzerland is one of the most gun-friendly nations in Europe. It has one of the highest rates of gun ownership per capita on the continent, and those numbers are probably skewed low because many households contain guns technically owned by the military as veterans keep their service weapons at home for rapid call-up purposes. (I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer as to whether those weapons are counted or not.)

Switzerland also isn’t part of the European Union.

However, the country does enjoy a good relationship with the EU. That relationship is threatened right now because the EU wants Switzerland to put tougher gun laws in place or else find its easy access to the rest of Europe cut off.

Now, the nation is set to vote on whether it should adopt new gun control measures, and opponents of the move are invoking a folk hero known for shooting tyrants.

In the eyes of rifle lover Andre Maury, centuries of tradition are under threat.

The 63-year-old is president of Geneva’s historic shooting club, housed in a gray stone building at the center of town. Sporting a blue sweatshirt emblazoned with the founding year — 1474 — he …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms