The Scope and Implications of a Tracing Mechanism for Small Arms ...

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the army weapon is capable of automatic fire while the commercially
available version can only fire one shot at a time”.
No matter what its origin, purchasing a Fass 90 is not as easy as buying a
pack of cigarettes. The purchaser must fork over 2,500 francs and, more
importantly, must possess a spotless record: a gun permit, clean police
record and a purchase permit issued by the police are among the necessary
formalities. Otherwise, those active in military service, or in other words
who have a Fass 90 at home, cannot simply succumb to an urge to go boar
hunting with it. The ammunition is packaged in a sealed box that must be
presented unbroken each time the individual reports to the army. “We can
always implement safeguards,” says Claude Gerbex, spokesman for the
Federal Department of Defence, Civilian Protection, and Sports (DDPS),
somewhat fatalistically “but it is not always easy to stop madmen from
eluding them.” He adds, “The use of military weapons to commit crimes is
so rare, in fact, that there are not even any statistics on the subject.”
Caption: The gunman used a Fass 90, the rifle used by the Swiss army.
Patrick Martin
Taken from the Swiss daily newspaper 24 heures, 21 February 2002, p. 17.