> It’s like if someone said “I’m scared of someone bringing a semi-automatic weapon to my school and doing a mass shooting. My country has lax laws about guns and their proper use”. And then you said “in your case the problem is not guns, it’s your country”.

The US has both problems: widespread availability of weapons and a high level of freedom to incite violence through spreading lies about groups. Which is why it sees much more of these incidents than countries which have similar levels of gun ownership.

The non-gun version of the problem is mass stabbings, which are less lethal.

Switzerland allows you to own a gun, but (generally) not to bear it. Huge difference.

America also has laws against taking guns into theaters and indiscriminately shooting people, once you have easy access to guns the gun becomes a potential solution to problems. Maybe Switzerland just has less problems where that potential solution appeals to people.

I'd say that the key difference is that Switzerland has compulsory military service in which you're taught how to operate a weapon properly. Therefore, everyone that has one has gone through months of training.

Vs the US, where there are loopholes that you can use to avoid even a basic background check, and then use it for the very first time to shoot someone.

Training seems likely to cut down on accidental shootings, but not so much on the deliberate ones.

I disagree. First of all, people with issues are more likely to be found out in boot camp.

Second, you learn a certain respect for the firearm and are expected to observe strict safety rules when handling it. That gives you a kind of psychological flinch when you consider doing anything out of the norm with it.

It seems like tons of toddler are accidentally firing guns as well in America, so training probably won't help there.

Training people to lock up their damn guns would.

That doesn't seem to make sense. All that would do is to make sure that a nut job knows how to properly shoot the gun. Basically what you are saying is "a Swiss wouldn't have missed Trump".

The difference might be in what guns mean to Swiss people vs. the US.

A gun in the US has this "if the government becomes destructive of these ends we can start shooting" connotation. A gun is there for self defense. Someone doesn't get off your law, you use your gun.

In Switzerland the gun and the compulsory military service you mention is there for the people to protect their country and fellow countrymen. You are trained in defending your neighbor, who just stepped on your lawn against outside aggressors.

Biggest difference is that you have only rich people in Switzerland. Almost no crime and hardly any immigration issues.