EU.... change your gun laws or we exclude you!

[Sim G]

So the Swiss, who are not even EU members, have caved under pressure of the EU to either tighten their gun laws, or be excluded from Schengen...

It's one thing to take away the rights of a tiny proportion of a population, such as in the UK, but nearly half of Swiss households own a gun!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48328867

[GeeRam]

[Pinguino]

EU - A bunch of complete and utter twunts!

[kennyc]

from "Bloke on the Range"

A quick (heh) FAQ:

Yes, unfortunately we lost the referendum. The new law is likely to enter into force on 1 July (people have been saying 1 June, but the Bericht des Bundesrates says 1 July).

Yes, this sucks.

Yes, it could have been far, far worse - initial drafts of the law were jaw-droppingly bad. Small mercies and all that...

No, this will not affect the continued existence of BotR. We will keep calm and carry on.

Yes, this will be a bit more of a PITA for acquiring semiauto rifles with 11+ round magazines or pistols with 21+ round magazines in the future. Cost mostly. And having to prove you're a sports shooter (club membership or regular private range shooting, no German-style nonsense with "disciplines" though) or collector.

No, "collector" is not defined. So each canton will make it up for themselves.

Yes, buying exactly the same firearm with a smaller magazine is unaffected.

Yes, it's whether the firearms is equipped with such a magazine, not whether it's capable of receiving one.

No, what "equipped with" actually means isn't finalised (the rules contained a provision that was clearly unworkable and would have criminalised 2 people sharing a car to the range if 1 had a 10-round Stgw 90 and the other a 20-round Stgw 90. Hopefully that definition will go away).

No, affected firearms already acquired before entry into force are unaffected.

No, there is no change with respect to full auto or downconversions from full auto.

Yes, there's a variant of an SBR law coming in - semiauto rifles which can be folded or telescoped down to under 60cm OAL without losing function are affected too. The wording doesn't affect fixed stock carbines that are always below 60cm OAL and doesn't seem to affect folders/telescopers which are already below 60cm OAL with the stock deployed.

Yes, this will probably result in newly-sold short rifles having their stocks fixed or a firing mechanism disconnect built in.

Yes, I have bought ahead pretty much everything affected I think I need for the channel.

No, we won't be doing a video on this until the Implementing Regulations ("Waffenverordnung") are finalised, cos there are too many loose ends at the moment. I'm planning on doing it with Ines Elena Kessler who did excellent work as a leading light of the No campaign in the media and is part of the Kessler Auktionen family.

No, we won't be relocating to the US just yet :)

Yes, the EU are extremely likely to come back in a few years' time for another bite at the apple.

Yes, if you have a general question not in this list, the answer is likely "we don't know yet" cos the Waffenverordnung hasn't been finalised.

Thank you for your attention.

[lapua338]

How could the Swiss be so fu**ing stupid?

Once you have surrendered your rights and freedoms to a 'higher authority' (Brussels and the hoplophobe EU apparatchiks) your civil liberties will never be returned to you.

[Geek]

How could the Swiss be so fu**ing stupid?

Once you have surrendered your rights and freedoms to a 'higher authority' (Brussels and the hoplophobe EU apparatchiks) your civil liberties will never be returned to you.

Agreed

I completely and utterly despise the EU!

[lapua338]

I completely and utterly despise the EU!

Absolutely!

The institution of the EU and legal firearm ownership are incapable of coexisting.

Completely and without qualification incompatible.

The Swiss if they had any sense at all should have stated their firearm laws are not open to discussion.

The fanatical EU extremists want to disarm the law-abiding in the name of fighting “terrorism, crime and violence” which is of course a falsehood.

That pot-bellied EU apparatchik Juncker is raising a glass of champagne (at our expense) to their latest achievement as we write on this very forum.

[Mike95]

Changing the EU gunlaws will not prevent the millions of illegal firearms in Eastern Europe from travelling via Schengen to just about anywhere in Europe. ?6 million Makarovs kicking about after the break up of the USSR....banning semi auto rifles. etc...waste of time.

Mike95

[Pete]

Well they did hold a referendum, and there was a majority vote in favour.............they clearly feel that Schengen is far more important in the great scheme of things than being able to possess what a Swiss friend calls "hardcore firearms"..............

Pete

[kennyc]

Well they did hold a referendum, and there was a majority vote in favour.............they clearly feel that Schengen is far more important in the great scheme of things than being able to possess what a Swiss friend calls "hardcore firearms"..............

Pete

considering their geographical location, Schengen is big business, and as currently expected to work, the new regulations won't really change anything, other than making it more expensive to own certain types of firearms.