Parliament is blocking Viola Amherd’s plan: rifle ammunition will not become more expensive

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This will be a shooting festival! After the Council of States, the National Council also opposes an increase in the price of the rifle cartridge 11. The Federal Council only wanted to subsidize the so-called GP-11 ammunition with 40 centimes instead of the previous 70 centimes. This would mean that it would have been subsidized to the same extent as the GP-90 ammunition for the 90 assault rifle. The shooters would have had to dig deeper into their pockets: they would now have to pay 60 cents per cartridge. of only 30 centimes.

Parliament is now putting an end to this request. It adopted a motion by SVP State Councilor Werner Salzmann (61) with 112 votes against, 77 votes and one abstention.

Symbolic decision for the will to defend ourselves

The National Council’s Security Committee narrowly rejected the motion. SP national councilor Priska Seiler Graf (55, ZH) emphasized as spokeswoman for the committee: “The subsidy for rifle cartridge 11 will not be abolished, but only reduced.”

She also recalled that the current Army weapons use a 90-rifle cartridge. The rifle cartridge 11 is mainly used for sport shooting. So there is no training effect for the army. Seiler Graf therefore made it clear: “The advantage for the army is small.”

SVP National Councilor Jean-Luc Addor (59, USA) supported the motion: “The shooters are the spearhead of the will to defend themselves!” he made clear. The price increase would only save crumbs, but the damage would be great. It is mainly older shooters who use the GP-11 ammunition. But Addor warned that they could no longer afford the ammunition. “There is a risk that the shooting clubs will lose their members and bleed dry.”

It’s not just about a few patterns, but also about symbolic politics, he continued. It is about the connection between shooting sports and the military and therefore more generally about the will to defend and serve.

Defense Minister Viola Amherd (61) unsuccessfully opposed the measure. With the price increase, rifle cartridges 11 and 90 should be subsidized at the same level in the future, she pointed out.

Rifle units stormed

The shooting clubs had previously protested against the price increases. “The federal government is endangering the Swiss will to defend itself,” warned the president of the Association of Swiss Rifle Veterans in Blick.

With the subsidy reduction, the federal government would have saved 3.5 million francs annually – that is no longer necessary. In return, the shooting clubs should receive approximately 2 million francs more in contributions for the compulsory program, field shooting, the young shooting courses and for technical courses with the 90 assault rifle.

Source:Blick