Every young man having served his "boot school" in the army takes his rifle with him and keeps it at home in a cupboard for further use during training programs

So we've found that in Switzerland, before you get a permit to own a gun:-

1) You must be over a fixed age.

2) You must have completed a *very* serious training course, with a huge amount of practical training and verification by instructors that you're safe to own a gun.

3) After all that training, you're registered as owning a gun. (A quick search shows that you're not allowed to sell a gun in Switzerland without checking that the buyer has a permit.)

OK, we're still missing a doctor removing your permission to own a gun if you're suffering from mental illness, and there's no insurance, so we're not quite there yet. But that's still a damn sight more than is required in any state in the US.

Checking Wikipedia, I also note that it's illegal to carry guns in public in Switzerland unless you've got a permit to do so (and those permits are only usually issued to soldiers and security staff). Automatic weapons are banned outright.

And another note on the subject from a BBC article about Rey-Bellet's killing:

"It's very common to hear women tell how their husbands remind them they have a gun in moments of tension," says Brigitte Schnegg, professor of gender politics at Berne University.

"They'll say: 'If you don't do what I want, don't forget I've got my gun upstairs.'"

Graham.