( CNN ) -- Switzerland 's part-time soldiers could lose their famous right to store their weapons at home . Switzerland 's part-time soldiers could lose the right to store their weapons at home . A coalition led by the country 's Social Democrat party and the Greens has collected nearly 120,000 signatures to force a national referendum on whether the weapons should be stored at military bases . The coalition of 74 groups says the weapons are involved in too many suicides and murders in the country and tighter controls are needed . Switzerland 's armed forces consist of just a few thousand permanent full-time staff , with the rest essentially a militia . Service in the militia is compulsory for men aged between 19 and 31 and in between call-ups they store their weapons at home . There are currently around 220,000 conscripts . However , a 2007 law change banned the storage of ammunition in homes . The coalition is looking to extend this , control the purchase of military weapons and set up a national gun register . Green lawmaker Josef Lang said more than 1.5 million unused weapons were kept in Swiss homes . Lang said their presence `` at the heart '' of the population could not be justified . He said a national register had to be created to keep track of the weapons , something police had long been seeking . Lang said the weapons had to be `` banished '' from homes . Barbara Weil , of the Swiss Medical Association , said it had been scientifically proven that if the guns were less freely available the number of suicides would drop . The studies had also shown that other methods of suicide did not increase in countries who had brought in stricter gun controls . The coalition estimates that 300 deaths annually are connected to gun use .
Swiss soldiers could lose their famous right to store their weapons at home . Coalition of groups get enough signatures for referendum on gun laws . Comment: