into the Swiss legal system by August 2018 due to its membership of the Schengen Area. The Directive also includes an exemption covering a specific Swiss issue – it allows possession to a target shooter of one firearm used during the mandatory military period after leaving the army, provided it was converted to semi-automatic only (art. 6(6) of the Amendment Directive). This part of the Directive specifically was however challenged by the Czech Republic before the European Court of Justice due to its discriminatory nature. The Czech Republic seeks nullification of the "Swiss exemption" as well as of other parts of the Directive. Civil rights organizations planned to hold a referendum to reject the amended EU directive. According to Swiss People's Party vice-president Christoph Blocher, Switzerland should consider abandoning EU's borderless Schengen Area if the Swiss people reject the proposed measures in a referendum. In a referendum held on 19 May 2019, voters supported the stricter EU restrictions on semi-automatic weapons, as recommended by the government. Army-issued arms and ammunition collection The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the recruit school, the basic-training camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity usually until age 30 (age 34 for officers). Prior to 2007, members of the Swiss Militia were supplied with 50 rounds of ammunition for their military weapon in a sealed ammo box that was regularly audited by the government (Pocket ammunition). This was so that, in the case of an emergency, the militia could respond quickly. In December 2007, the Swiss Federal Council decided that the distribution of ammunition to soldiers would stop and that previously issued ammo would be returned. By March 2011, more than 99% of the ammo has been received. Only 2,000 specialist militia members (who protect airports and other sites of particular sensitivity) are permitted to keep their military-issued ammunition at home. The rest of the militia get their ammunition from their military armoury in the event of an emergency. When their period of service has ended, militia men have the choice of buying their personal Stgw 90 after it has been converted to semi-automatic and keeping other selected items of their equipment. However, keeping the firearms after the end of service requires a weapon