Kennesaw, Georgia (USA) In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition. The ordinance states the gun law is needed to "protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants." http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm Svalbard, Norway Svalbard is a remote island in the arctic circle, which is governed by the nation of Norway, although there are also many Russian coal miners on the island. Because of the ice and lack of roads, ice sleds are an important means of transportation. By law, all residents must carry a shotgun outside of the towns, and all sleds have a gun rack for this purpose. Students in Svalbard are taught how to use a shotgun and ammunition to fend off polar bears at the beginning of every school year. Since polar bears can outrun a human in a matter of seconds, every student at the University Center undergoes weapons and arctic survival training. Its absolutely necessary, said Gunnar Sand. While on a British Schools Exploring Society trip in the Norwegian Island of Svalbard, a 17-year-old was mauled to death by a polar bear. The bear injured four others in the 12-person party before one of the group members shot and killed it. Polar bears typically attack with little warning. Switzerland The country has a population of six million, but there are estimated to be at least two million publicly-owned firearms, including about 600,000 automatic rifles. This is in a very large part due to Switzerland's unique system of national defence, developed over the centuries. nstead of a standing, full-time army, the country requires every man to undergo some form of military training for a few days or weeks a year throughout most of their lives. Between the ages of 21 and 32 men serve as frontline troops. They are given an M-57 assault rifle and 24 rounds of ammunition which they are required to keep at home. I knew one man living in Switzerland that tried to return his assault rifle back to the army. Because of bipolar disorder he would sometimes go into uncontrollable rage, and he was afraid he might do something he would later regret. The army refused to take back the assault rifle, telling him he was legally required to keep the gun and ammunition in his house. But he was allowed to return three grenades that the army had issued him. This man was no longer active in military service, nor had he been in many years. The government even sells off surplus weaponry to the general public when new equipment is introduced. Guns and shooting are popular national pastimes in the country. Switzerland has one of the highest standards of living, and has remained relatively isolated from any the influx of immigration seen by the rest of Europe. It has none of the social problems associated with gun crime seen in other industrialised countries like drugs or urban poverty. The gun crime rate is so low in Switzerland that statistics are not even kept! Indeed, those that are advocating for further gun restriction laws in the country are more worried about the number of suicides comitted with a gun. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/swiss-reject-gun-law-reform
The Kennesaw ordinance allows conscience and economic exemptions. If you're too poor to own a gun, or are philosophically opposed to gun ownership, you can be exempt. Despite the exemptions, Kennesaw's crime rate went down, while the neighboring suburbs (with similar SES populations) went up.
lol Funny when right winger cite Switzerland as an example, given that it is a socialist country and uses that type of government to cure most of its ills.
In what universe is this a country? Besides, a city council cannot constitutionally legislate that you MUST purchase a firearm and ammunition. They would have to provide these for free, at which point the city council members would be accepting some level of liability for any crimes committed with those firearms... NOT a smart move. So the US should be compared to a "remote island in the arctic circle, which is goverened by the nation of Norway", but not to a first-world democracy? Really? You want to get into the gun control situation of Switzerland? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22089893
I enjoy having public servants like police, fire fighters, teachers... Those are all socialist programs.
