" in Switzerland, all males are issued assault rifles for militia service and keep them at home, yet little crime exists there"

"More per capita firepower exists in Switzerland than in any other place in the world, yet it is one of the safest places to be."

"The U.N. study omits mention of Switzerland, which is awash in guns and has substantially lower murder and robbery rates than England, where most guns are banned"

"In 1993, not a single armed robbery was reported in Geneva. No one seems to be looking at the Swiss example in the U.S., however."

"While many shoot for sport, all males aged 20 to 42 are required by militia system regulation to keep rifles and/or pistols at home. In addition, gun shops abound. Yet firearms are rarely used in crime."

"homicide rates are highest in the underdeveloped countries, many of which ban private firearm possession. In some, private murder does not compare to the genocidal murder committed by governments against their unarmed subjects."

Hmm… I'd tend to say, Switzerland remains a valid example. What the antis claim is that civilian gun ownership causes citizens to commit crimes against other citizens. The fact that Switzerland, with de facto civilian gun ownership, has a low crime rate is evidence that civilian guns per se do not cause citizen-against-citizen crimes.

The fact that those guns are kept in the context of a government crime against its citizens seems irrelevant to the argument to me. Conscription is a crime committed by the government against citizens. It is morally significant for the legitimacy of the Swiss government, or lack of such legitimacy, but I don't see how this context would invalidate the evidence regarding citizen-against-citizen crimes in the presence of civilian gun ownership.

Not sure if I should make this a double post…

So, for something completely different, look who's talking now.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=68851

"The shooting does not change our right to bear arms." — Rudy Giuliani

The statement is not in the article, only in the video.

Here an older article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/us/politics/23rudy.html?ex=1177041600&en=59c1965102a8ebc3&ei=5070

 


(Edited by Alexander Butziger on 4/18, 12:50pm)

I’m glad people are working through this because it appears to me that we, the people of the United States, have a serious problem with crime. I’m not sure what I can do to stop crime, but I know that there is an answer out there.

As of 2006, the incarceration rate in prison and jail, in the United States was 737 inmates per 100,000 or 1 of every 136 adults. [3]. For the most part, the U.S. rate is three to eight times that of the Western European nations and Canada. The rate in England and Wales, for example, is 139 persons imprisoned per 100,000 residents while in Norway it is 59 per 100,000.   Compared with other countries, the United States has among the highest incarceration rates in the world. More people are behind bars in the United States than any other country. As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars, on probation or on parole.  (All prison stats from Wiki)