Parliament to debate seizing unused army weapons

The Swiss National Council will debate this summer whether to confiscate former army weapons that have been sitting unused in homes for more than a decade.

The motion is brought by Social Democrat Priska Seiler Graf and backed by the Federal Council. 

It aims to prevent domestic homicides - often elderly men killing partners with old service weapons before taking their own lives. 

The Swiss Sport Shooting Federation has warned the proposal endangers shooting tradition and the militia system. 

Around 2.3 million firearms are held privately in Switzerland, many of them from army stocks.

 

 

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