Gun law revision

In a separate development on Friday, the government said it would delay any revision of the gun law until a likely nationwide vote on the Schengen/Dublin accord.

The bilateral treaty between Switzerland and the European Union, which has been approved by the government and parliament, covers closer cooperation on security and asylum.

Schengen includes directives on the sale and possession of firearms, including a ban on automatic weapons.

It is being challenged by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party as well as the isolationist Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland.

If enough signatures are collected, a nationwide referendum will take place on June 5 this year.

In the wake of the massacre in September 2001, when a lone gunman shot dead 14 people in the cantonal parliament in Zug, the then justice minister, Ruth Metzler, proposed setting up a central register for firearms.

swissinfo with agencies