Ok, so the guy used a bit of license with historical fact--I also tell
people my ex used to be sane.  Fact is, Switzerland still has the highest
legal gun ownership rate of any industrialized nation.  Held against the
knowledge that they have a relatively low rate of violent crime it does seem
incongruent with conventional wisdom that states that access to weaponry =
higher incidence of violent crime.

Something to chew on, particularly for the US citizens on this list, is the
the Supreme Court ruled (2 years ago) that local police have no legal
responsibility to protect the citizenry (in other words, they can't be sued
if they fail to keep you from harm's way--even when they have the resources
to do so).

As a "gimp wi' a limp", I get concerned that I would appear an easy target
of opportunity for those inclined to do me harm.  I work in a rather violent
section of the metropolis in a building that's no stranger to violence
itself (county courthouse).  Many PWDs don't have the luxury of living in a
relatively safe rural environment like my home.  Since the local gendarmerie
need not legally concern themselves with our protection, it would seem to me
that we (gimps & co.) would be interested in ways to better insure personal
protection--on our own terms.

(do they even MAKE soapboxes anymore?)

-Kyle

-----Original Message-----
From: Deri James [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2000 4:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: shooting a dead horse (with an "assault rifle", no less) OR
An Au ssie looks at US through Switzerland (they're such Swissies!)


       "Kyle E. Cleveland" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
> It was the Swiss' passion for guns only matched by their
> determination to keep their liberty that helped keep the Nazi
> war machine at bay. When the Swiss government thought a Nazi
> invasion was imminent it ordered every able bodied man to stand
> by his post and defend it to the last round. Their
> determination to defend their liberties plus their shooting
> skills and the sheer quantity of weapons at their disposal
> combined with the nature of the terrain persuaded the Nazis
> that an invasion of Switzerland was not worth the cost.

Blitz-krieg over them mountains? I think not. Anyway they needed
somewhere to place their "hedge" bet!!

Cheers,

--
Deri James