A butterfly classified as very dangerous
A butterfly classified as very dangerous
I have a butterfly knife at home, but I was recently told that it is a prohibited weapon in Switzerland. It seemed to me that our weapons legislation was rather tolerant and that it was easy to acquire firearms. Is it true that a simple knife is banned?
Vincent, Geneva
The Federal Arms Act (LArm) lays down the conditions under which it is possible to acquire, possess and carry arms, their accessories and ammunition in Switzerland. Firearms, knives, sprays, electroshock devices and other compressed-air devices or devices designed to injure (truncheons, slingshots, throwing objects or punches) are divided into three categories: weapons subject to registration, those subject to authorisation and those that are banned outright.
Prohibited weapons include automatic firearms, military launchers of ammunition, projectiles or missiles with explosive effect, devices designed to injure in fights, knives whose blade is released by an automatic opening mechanism that can be operated with one hand, butterfly knives, throwing knives and daggers with symmetrical blades. These objects are so dangerous that it is not possible to acquire or possess them without exceptional authorisation.
Conversely, the category of weapons that need only be advertised includes single-shot hunting weapons and imitation weapons where their appearance could be mistaken for a firearm. A contract must be signed by the seller and the buyer, who must keep it for 10 years. In addition, in the case of a firearm, the seller must send the contract to the firearms registration service within 30 days of signing it.
Weapons that are neither prohibited nor subject to simple registration may only be acquired with a licence. These include semi-automatic weapons such as pistols, revolvers and automatic firearms converted from prescription to semi-automatic. Licences may not be issued to minors, persons under general guardianship or persons for whom there is reason to fear that they will use weapons in a manner dangerous to themselves or to others, or to persons whose criminal record contains an offence of a violent or dangerous nature. Nationals of certain countries are banned from accessing weapons, in particular those from the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Turkey and Algeria.
As you can see, the weapon you have in your possession is not a 'simple' knife, and you should take steps to determine whether you may exceptionally be authorised to keep it. You should also know that the Office feìdeìral de la police has produced a comprehensive brochure summarising the rules applicable to all categories of weapons, which can be consulted at www.fedpol.admin.ch/dam/data/fedpol/.
sicherheit/waffen/Broschüre/waffenbroschu
ere-e.pdf
