A referendum was held in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 13 February 2011 on the

federal popular initiative In Switzerland, a popular initiative (German: ''Volksinitiative'', French: ''Initiative populaire'', Italian: ''Iniziativa popolare'', Romansh: ''Iniziativa dal pievel'') allows the people to suggest law on a national, cantonal, and municipal ...

"For the protection against gun violence". It was rejected by 56% of voters and a majority of cantons.

Initiative

The initiative foresees that military guns can no longer be kept at home, but must be stored at the arsenal (''Zeughaus'') instead, that possession of a gun should be linked to a screening of the ability and necessity of the gunholder, and that all guns should be registered. Left-wing parties (SP, Greens, CSP) and the GLP are mostly in favour of the proposal, with right-wing parties (SVP, FDP, CVP, BDP) opposed.

Text of law as proposed

Opinion polls

According to polls from January 2011, the initiative was favoured by 45% of respondents, with 34% opposed and a relatively high amount of undecideds at 21%. A second poll from two weeks before the referendum saw a closening of the polls, with 47% to 45% in favour.

Results

More than half, 56.3%, of all voters were against the initiative, with only the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Zurich,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Jura,

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

and Neuchâtel in support; this meant the initiative would have narrowly passed in western Switzerland, but clearly failed in the German-speaking parts.Waffenschutzinitiative klar gescheitert
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 13 February 2011 In Switzerland, the passing of a constitutional amendment by initiative requires a double majority; not only must a majority of people vote for the amendment but also a majority of cantons give their consent.

External links

Official website

References