Guns on the street in Thaiand

[Bendi]

It is not legal to carry a gun for self defense in thai. You can own a gun. Have been a member of a pistol club for 5 years. 2 years ago i bought a pistol. It is locked down in the pistol club. The papers of the gun is in me and my whifes name. Last year i wanted to buy a new gun. I asked the owner of the club if he could sign my papers. Including a request for having the new gun stored at my home. That was granted. I can transport that gun from my home to the club. We have competitions throughout thailand. When i need to move the gun i go to the police station and get a permit. It can be done. Maybee you need friends in right places? Dont know.

[The Deerhunter]

4 hours ago, Falcon said:

It’s legal to own guns here , both for foreigners and Thais, you just need the correct license which isn’t difficult to get. We own a couple of guns kept in the house, unless we are going out to the shooting range of course. Obtaining a concealed carry license is very difficult, even for Thais.

 

There will be many anti gun people here jumping all over this saying how a gun in Thailand isn’t necessary, etc. but, in reality, thailand is not that safe and, in my view, better to keep a legal gun in the house at all times just ‘in case’.

Well it was announced just a few weeks ago that foreigners will not be able to get any gun licence now.  But of course half the police stations probably were not allowing it anyway and the other half probably never even look at any new rules from BKK anyway so probably nothing has changed. About 4 years ago around the time of the coup, all gun licences were to be abolished and all guns were to be surrendered. Two weeks later never heard of it again.  Personally, as a retired gun dealer of 20+ years in another country, I think most households here have at least one or more personalities in or associated with the house that could not be trusted to be mature with the knowledge of any firearm being on the property.  My wife has wanted one but we have six farm dogs and a cheap Taser.  I say that is security enough.  But a single barrel .410 with a 20-24" barrel would be handy on occasions on the farm.  

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, Falcon said:

It’s legal to own guns here , both for foreigners and Thais, you just need the correct license which isn’t difficult to get. We own a couple of guns kept in the house, unless we are going out to the shooting range of course. Obtaining a concealed carry license is very difficult, even for Thais.

 

There will be many anti gun people here jumping all over this saying how a gun in Thailand isn’t necessary, etc. but, in reality, thailand is not that safe and, in my view, better to keep a legal gun in the house at all times just ‘in case’.

Seen the huge number of illegal guns owned, and many times used, I do agree with you.

The trouble is that many legal gun owners have a gun, but haven't got the foggiest idea about safety, how to shoot, and what to do or not to do in case of problems with the gun.

Which is another point to own a gun.

[LivinLOS]

5 hours ago, Falcon said:

It’s legal to own guns here , both for foreigners and Thais, you just need the correct license which isn’t difficult to get. We own a couple of guns kept in the house, unless we are going out to the shooting range of course. Obtaining a concealed carry license is very difficult, even for Thais.

 

There will be many anti gun people here jumping all over this saying how a gun in Thailand isn’t necessary, etc. but, in reality, thailand is not that safe and, in my view, better to keep a legal gun in the house at all times just ‘in case’.

Do you, as a foreigner, have a license ?? 

 

A few friends over the years have had guns for home defence, and one because he had legit reasons to need one, but always the guns were in wives names and hence only legal in the home. 

[smileydude]

In Thailand there are concealed carry weapon licenses (CCW) for both military and civilians which are often issued to:

 

-government officials who request them on the basis of security risk duties such as mayors, tambon officials etc.

-security personnel of banks (not common as they prefer you hire off duty police personnel)

-anyone who can prove their jobs require self protection at all times.

 

They are rarely issued to the last group mentioned and if issued will be for one specific firearm piece valid for 1 year to be extended on a case by case basis which pretty much means you will have to pay an undisclosed sum(bribe) to have it extended unless you know someone who knows someone.

[Jdiddy]

Ive seen what looked like civilians carrying M16s while riding their mopeds up near the border Maeai/Maesai area

 

I overtook as politely as i could

[LukKrueng]

On 6/4/2018 at 10:28 PM, blackcab said:

It is allowed and a license is available - for Thai citizens who can prove the need. Some cash in transit guards have such a license, as do some gold shop owners.

 

As a foreigner, you have an almost zero chance of getting such a license.

three is a license for owning/holding a firearm, not for carrying one. A licensed firearm must be kept at the place of registration (your home/shop/office).

there are special permits for carrying a gun, but those are nearly impossible to get, and there are many restrictions to those permits as well (not allowed to carry directly on your body, forearm must not be loaded with ammunition, not allowed to carry in shops/shopping centers and many more such restrictions). All above is for civilians, and no need to remark about all those illegal guns or those which are legal but the owners choose to disregard the laws

[blackcab]

9 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

three is a license for owning/holding a firearm, not for carrying one. A licensed firearm must be kept at the place of registration (your home/shop/office).

there are special permits for carrying a gun, but those are nearly impossible to get, and there are many restrictions to those permits as well (not allowed to carry directly on your body, forearm must not be loaded with ammunition, not allowed to carry in shops/shopping centers and many more such restrictions). All above is for civilians, and no need to remark about all those illegal guns or those which are legal but the owners choose to disregard the laws

 

Are you talking about Thailand or another country? If you really are talking about Thailand then just about everything you have said is incorrect.

 

Thai civilians can obtain a permit to carry a firearm. It can be carried on their body, and it can be loaded. The permit places no restriction as to where it can be carried, although common sense and cultural norms obviously do.

 

I speak from experience.

[jimster]

3 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Well it was announced just a few weeks ago that foreigners will not be able to get any gun licence now.  But of course half the police stations probably were not allowing it anyway and the other half probably never even look at any new rules from BKK anyway so probably nothing has changed. About 4 years ago around the time of the coup, all gun licences were to be abolished and all guns were to be surrendered. Two weeks later never heard of it again.  Personally, as a retired gun dealer of 20+ years in another country, I think most households here have at least one or more personalities in or associated with the house that could not be trusted to be mature with the knowledge of any firearm being on the property.  My wife has wanted one but we have six farm dogs and a cheap Taser.  I say that is security enough.  But a single barrel .410 with a 20-24" barrel would be handy on occasions on the farm.   

Interesting. I'm surprised that foreigners were ever allowed to own guns years ago I looked up this topic and the consensus was "foreigners can't own firearms" yet all of a sudden we have a law dated from only last year. Just wondering, what is the rationale behind preventing only foreigners from owning guns in Thailand? And why especially only since last year, what happened then to "justify" this?

 

Also, can a foreigner on a permanent resident (PR) visa apply for a firearm permit? Or only those with Thai citizenship? I assume that by all foreigners that means Burmese and Cambodians aren't legally allowed to own a gun either.

[jimster]

I have the feeling that in the not too distant future, as TheDeerHunter mentioned with the proposed law back in 2014, private gun ownership in Thailand will be abolished for Thai citizens too. It's only a matter of time.

Edited June 20, 2018 by jimster

[scorecard]

Just now, jimster said:

I have the feeling that in the not too distant future, as TheDeerHunter mentioned with the proposed law back in 2014, private gun ownership in Thailand will be abolished for Thai citizens too. It's only a matter of time.

 

And I certainly hope so and even more serious I hope it's strenuously enforced with serious punishment for offenders.

 

But it needs to be very soon before Thailand is awash with illegal guns and illegal sellers.

 

 

[The Deerhunter]

16 minutes ago, jimster said:

Interesting. I'm surprised that foreigners were ever allowed to own guns years ago I looked up this topic and the consensus was "foreigners can't own firearms" yet all of a sudden we have a law dated from only last year. Just wondering, what is the rationale behind preventing only foreigners from owning guns in Thailand? And why especially only since last year, what happened then to "justify" this?

 

Also, can a foreigner on a permanent resident (PR) visa apply for a firearm permit? Or only those with Thai citizenship? I assume that by all foreigners that means Burmese and Cambodians aren't legally allowed to own a gun either.

Several years ago I had a sit down with a Sikh guy who owns one of the big shops in BKK.  At that stage I still owned my shop overseas . he said i would have no difficulty to even get a carry with my background.  It might take 6-12 months and cost a few 000 baht.  That was 2 or 3 years before the last coup. I have no idea what the rules are now except a month or 3 ago it was announced no licences (of any type I think) for foreigners.  But TIT and I have no idea what the rules in your or my area would be.  And like immigration laws varying from office to office, the gun licencing laws can be different depending on all sorts of things and I will not go into details here.   Sorry I do not have any official up-to-date information so do not quote me as an authority.  I only know what I see in the media, frequently repeated here in T.V.

 

By the way don't get too excited about the possibility of banning guns in Thailand.  Cancelling licences has nothing to do with getting rid of guns.  S.E.Asia is awash with guns and military hardware of all types.  Changing the law will never make guns go away.  (1) Only non-criminals will comply,  (2) criminals by definition are people who break laws, all sorts of laws; and (3) It will crate a new class of criminal whose only crime might be not handing in their gun.

Edited June 20, 2018 by The Deerhunter

[jimster]

9 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And I certainly hope so and even more serious I hope it's strenuously enforced with serious punishment for offenders.

 

But it needs to be very soon before Thailand is awash with illegal guns and illegal sellers.

 

 

That's usually the justification for making it more difficult to own guns but the fact is, there is a worldwide push to abolish private gun ownership. We all know the big push to make it more difficult to own guns in the USA but it's also happening in other countries.

 

Currently, gun ownership is illegal for all, irrespective of whether you are a local or foreigner in Thailand's neighboring countries, including Vietnam, Laos and China. Apparently Myanmar does not have very liberal gun laws either (no idea about the actual law, except signs in Thai on the Thai side of the riverside opposite the casinos and border crossings stating that one should not bring a firearm to Myanmar because you could be arrested). Similarly, despite the proliferation of illegal guns in Cambodia, my understanding is they are illegal even for Cambodians (correct me if I'm wrong) so in SE Asia, Thailand has the most liberal gun laws. Also I doubt Singapore permits private gun ownership.

[grollies]

6 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Well it was announced just a few weeks ago that foreigners will not be able to get any gun licence now.  But of course half the police stations probably were not allowing it anyway and the other half probably never even look at any new rules from BKK anyway so probably nothing has changed. About 4 years ago around the time of the coup, all gun licences were to be abolished and all guns were to be surrendered. Two weeks later never heard of it again.  Personally, as a retired gun dealer of 20+ years in another country, I think most households here have at least one or more personalities in or associated with the house that could not be trusted to be mature with the knowledge of any firearm being on the property.  My wife has wanted one but we have six farm dogs and a cheap Taser.  I say that is security enough.  But a single barrel .410 with a 20-24" barrel would be handy on occasions on the farm.  

Bolt action Webley and Scott .410 best shotgun I ever had.

[grollies]

4 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

Do you, as a foreigner, have a license ?? 

 

A few friends over the years have had guns for home defence, and one because he had legit reasons to need one, but always the guns were in wives names and hence only legal in the home. 

Yep

[dragonballz]

12 hours ago, catman20 said:

very good post, spot on. what ever is the OP thinking ?

try again as my last post was deleted .fact is what are you and simoh1490 thinking ? Telling the guy he should not be here because he asked a simple question . How do you know what he is thinking ? I wondered about this as well not because i want to carry a gun but to know if there are lots of thai guys legally carrying a gun around  me and . Perhaps he wants to know the same and you 2 tell him to go home ?
 Of course people with manners , common sense and self control can never be robbed or murdered . So in fact you are saying only rude,stupid people with no self control are in danger ? 55555555

[patrick1968]

you can not ….. but the thai wife can 

[ericthai]

On 6/4/2018 at 11:28 AM, blackcab said:

 

As a foreigner, you have an almost zero chance of getting such a license.

it can be done, but not easy.  i know 2 expats that legally own guns in thailand. 

[The Deerhunter]

4 hours ago, grollies said:

Bolt action Webley and Scott .410 best shotgun I ever had.

A 20" Rossi side-by-side .410 coach gun was my darling.  I sold it when coming up here.  On a gun rack on my Honda 450 quad, next to my Savage .17HMR and a 12 Ga. semi, I was a ready for anything when small game night hunting. Sometimes a suppressed Ruger 10/22 as well.  Yes a 4 gun rack on a quad bike.  Great!

[catman20]

8 hours ago, patrick1968 said:

you can not ….. but the thai wife can 

having a Thai wife can be like having a loaded gun ?

[LukKrueng]

14 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

Are you talking about Thailand or another country? If you really are talking about Thailand then just about everything you have said is incorrect.

 

Thai civilians can obtain a permit to carry a firearm. It can be carried on their body, and it can be loaded. The permit places no restriction as to where it can be carried, although common sense and cultural norms obviously do.

 

I speak from experience.

I speak from experience too, here in Thailand

[baansgr]

Interesting topic with examples of people with first hand experience. Conflicting views but possibly as in Thailand with most beurcracy it depends which Province or Amphur you live in. 

[StevieAus]

On 6/20/2018 at 7:54 AM, Falcon said:

It’s legal to own guns here , both for foreigners and Thais, you just need the correct license which isn’t difficult to get. We own a couple of guns kept in the house, unless we are going out to the shooting range of course. Obtaining a concealed carry license is very difficult, even for Thais.

 

There will be many anti gun people here jumping all over this saying how a gun in Thailand isn’t necessary, etc. but, in reality, thailand is not that safe and, in my view, better to keep a legal gun in the house at all times just ‘in case’.

I thought there had been something in the media recently about non Thais being prohibited from owning firearms.

Cannot recall whether this was only for prospective firearms owners or would apply to those already owning firearms.

[jimster]

32 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

I thought there had been something in the media recently about non Thais being prohibited from owning firearms.

Cannot recall whether this was only for prospective firearms owners or would apply to those already owning firearms.

Go back a page or two, there were two articles posted about the change in the law. The Nation Multimedia was the source, another news website simply linked from the Nation.

 

No mention of whether the law would apply retroactively or only from then on. As others have stated though, it doesn't mean everyone will get the memo and that it will apply across the board.

 

Just like the 2016 law, also published in the Royal Gazette outlining the procedures that foreigners need to bring vehicles registered in third countries (excluding neighboring countries that have an agreement with Thailand) to Thailand as temporary imports. It turns out that even 2 years after the law has been put into effect, it's only enforced for Chinese vehicles and for all vehicles at some border crossings. There are still a few borders where foreigners continue to make it in without the required permits and guides, as long as the vehicles aren't Chinese registered.

 

In a similar vein, even before the new gun ownership rules were announced, some police stations didn't allow foreigners to register guns. I suspect though many will still allow it, especially if you have good connections. So in that sense, nothing much will change.

 

Laws always seem to be selectively enforced in Thailand and depend on who you know, there are always loopholes, go figure...

Edited June 21, 2018 by jimster

[MyFriend You]

On 6/20/2018 at 7:32 AM, catman20 said:

very good post, spot on. what ever is the OP thinking ?

He answered in #6  -  poor choice of words in the Subject line I reckon..

[smotherb]

On 6/4/2018 at 7:59 PM, simoh1490 said:

And OP, if that's your direction and thinking, you shouldn't be here in the first place, this is not the USA. Facts are that Thailand is very safe for foreigners who have manners, common sense and self-control.

With so many guns in Thailand, it does not matter that you show manners, possess common sense or have self-control; if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[smotherb]

22 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

A 20" Rossi side-by-side .410 coach gun was my darling.  I sold it when coming up here.  On a gun rack on my Honda 450 quad, next to my Savage .17HMR and a 12 Ga. semi, I was a ready for anything when small game night hunting. Sometimes a suppressed Ruger 10/22 as well.  Yes a 4 gun rack on a quad bike.  Great!

I guess my sawed-off 12ga pump stuffed in my left saddle bag and my Colt .45 auto in a shoulder holster under my vest would be overkill.

[The Deerhunter]

12 hours ago, smotherb said:

I guess my sawed-off 12ga pump stuffed in my left saddle bag and my Colt .45 auto in a shoulder holster under my vest would be overkill.

 

12 hours ago, smotherb said:

 

Not everywhere  that I have done my night shooting.  Sometimes really big rabbits, pigs , goats  or even a chance for deer.  Then a 45 and a 12ga slug would be welcome.  Now, down in anti-gun-Australia  they have rabbitty hoppy things  up to 2 metres tall.   I sold my 18 handguns and God knows how many long guns when I moved to Thailand.  I really miss my 3 Ruger S/a's  22, 357 & 44Mag. (Oh, and my series '80 1911/45, crappy Colt cracked frame extension and all.)  Still have some long ones locked up that I sell a few of each time I go back.

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

 

Not everywhere  that I have done my night shooting.  Sometimes really big rabbits, pigs , goats  or even a chance for deer.  Then a 45 and a 12ga slug would be welcome.  Now, down in anti-gun-Australia  they have rabbitty hoppy things  up to 2 metres tall.   I sold my 18 handguns and God knows how many long guns when I moved to Thailand.  I really miss my 3 Ruger S/a's  22, 357 & 44Mag. (Oh, and my series '80 1911/45, crappy Colt cracked frame extension and all.)  Still have some long ones locked up that I sell a few of each time I go back.

Fortunately, I left all my weapons with my son in the US.

[StevieAus]

5 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

 

Not everywhere  that I have done my night shooting.  Sometimes really big rabbits, pigs , goats  or even a chance for deer.  Then a 45 and a 12ga slug would be welcome.  Now, down in anti-gun-Australia  they have rabbitty hoppy things  up to 2 metres tall.   I sold my 18 handguns and God knows how many long guns when I moved to Thailand.  I really miss my 3 Ruger S/a's  22, 357 & 44Mag. (Oh, and my series '80 1911/45, crappy Colt cracked frame extension and all.)  Still have some long ones locked up that I sell a few of each time I go back.

The Rabbity Hoppy  things are called Kangaroos which are marsupials no relation to rabbits which by the way are not native to Australia but were introduced by some of the earlier settlers.

Australia might be anti gun but I think you will find most people like it that way.

Fortunately Australia doesn’t seem to have the same problems experienced in other countries where guns are freely available , such as massacres in schools and gun happy police.