Geneva opens free military arms dump

The cantonal arsenal can store up to 1,300 army-issue weapons Keystone

Swiss soldiers living in canton Geneva can now store their army guns free of charge at a cantonal arsenal rather than keep them at home.

But the pioneering initiative, which opened on Wednesday and is being closely watched by other cantons, has received a lukewarm reception from the federal authorities.

“I handed in my assault rifle yesterday, as it’s not very obvious how I can store it safely. I think it’s good to have the choice… to be able to store a weapon free of charge,” Colonel Guy Reyfer, director of the cantonal department of military affairs, told swissinfo.

“And all the better if it can help prevent any tragedies. But it won’t resolve all the problems.”

Switzerland’s gun laws continue to cause heated debate. Army-issue weapons are involved in the deaths of more than 300 people a year in the country.

Under Swiss law, all able-bodied men aged 20-30 are conscripted for about three months and issued with a rifle. After initial training they are required to do three or four weeks of army service a year until they have served a total of 260 days or reached the age of 34. Throughout this time they keep their rifles at home.

In response to recent shooting tragedies using army-issue guns, on September 5, 2007, the Geneva cantonal government took a unique step by voting to set up the free arsenal – it is the only canton to offer such a service.

Under existing federal regulations, only those people considered to be a risk to themselves or to others can leave their weapons at a recognised military arsenal. But they have to prove so in writing and to pay a SFr60 tax – all others must keep their guns at home.

Tolerated

With this move, the canton claims it is acting in accordance with Swiss law, which states that military weapons must be kept “in a safe place”.

“Nowhere does [the law] talk about homes. We know that they are not always safe. Even locked in the cellar, a gun can be stolen and used by an unstable person,” Geneva senator Robert Cramer said in December.

Geneva is not changing the legislation regarding looking after weapons, he added.

“We are simply implementing the law and allowing the civilian soldier to respect it by offering, free of charge, the possibility to keep their weapon in a safe place.”

For its part, the defence ministry has not shown much enthusiasm for the initiative, but importantly has not vetoed it and is in discussion with the Geneva authorities.

“We believe it doesn’t comply with legal regulations,” defence ministry spokesman Martin Hueber told swissinfo. “But we are currently examining canton Geneva’s arguments as part of a wider analysis of keeping army-issue weapons at home.”

Early days

Reyfer said it was too early to predict the success of the initiative.

“It’s very hard to know whether we will have 100, 500 or 1,000 guns… and how this action will be perceived by the general public, as we are the first to do so in Switzerland – there is no precedent.”

So far, only a dozen people have taken up the offer during what is still the holiday season in Geneva.

The arsenal, which cost SFr60,000 to renovate, is equipped for 1,300 weapons and can be increased in size, if necessary. There are currently 7,500 active militia soldiers in the canton.

The process for handing in a weapon is relatively simple. Anyone who chooses to leave their gun at the arsenal signs a document explaining that they do not have suitable security conditions to keep it at home. However, they remain legally responsible for the gun and its maintenance, and they can pick it up and drop it off whenever they need it for shooting practice or army service.

A number of other cantons are watching closely from the sidelines to see how things develop.

“We are a kind of laboratory. There is interest and after the drama in Zurich others will probably follow us,” said Reyfer.

In November 2007 a young soldier who had only just completed his recruitment training killed a 16-year-old girl in Zurich in a random shooting.

swissinfo, Simon Bradley

Key facts

Estimations of the number of firearms in circulation in Switzerland range upwards from 1.2 million.
Army-issue weapons are said to be involved in the deaths of more than 300 people in Switzerland every year.
According to Ipsilon Suicide Prevention, 34% of suicides among men are due to firearms, compared with only 3.7% of female suicides.
In April a survey found that 65.6% of citizens would vote to ban army weapons from the home, 69% were in favour of a national gun register and 37% said a ban on storing army weapons would prevent family tragedies.

In brief

In September 2007, parliament banned the long-standing tradition of allowing all enlisted men to keep their ammunition at home. Ammunition held by militia soldiers must now be handed back to the army.

Also in September, the centre-left Social Democratic Party and pacifist organisations launched a people’s initiative to ban the estimated one-and-a-half million guns and rifles kept at home.

The initiative includes a call for army weapons to remain in the barracks and a national gun register.

Five years ago Switzerland was stunned when a gunman shot and killed 14 people in Zug’s cantonal parliament with a rifle, before turning the gun on himself.

Debate on the use of firearms was further fuelled in April 2006 when the husband of former women’s ski champion Corinne Rey-Bellet killed his wife and her brother with his army pistol.