4 million reasons to believe Thailand has a problem with illegal guns

[blackcab]

9 hours ago, Deerculler said:

There was a time when Farang could own a firearm.

 

It is no longer possible.

It changed after the coup.

 

That law was never enacted. Instead, when applying the automatic answer is almost always no. Technically, however, foreigners can possess a firearm, and some licenses are issued each year to selected foreigners.

[blackcab]

22 hours ago, starky said:

Foreigners can no longer get gun licenses in Thailand. 

 

It is still possible for a foreigner to get a license to possess a firearm in Thailand. That being said, 99.99% of foreigners will not be eligible.

[Artisi]

15 hours ago, proton said:

Do they post them? ????

Yep, tracked postage with next day delivery. 

[Rampant Rabbit]

An  option I  though about, although never needed  any guns  here in 15 years, PAINTBALL  guns......I dont see them for sale easily but do see paintball clubs.this would be for close  range intruder  deterrent ie whack em in the face with  10 or  so and theyd  soon be off  missing an eye or two.

Anyone know who sells  them?

[starky]

12 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

It is still possible for a foreigner to get a license to possess a firearm in Thailand. That being said, 99.99% foreigners will not be eligible.

There are always ways and means after all TIT.  Having said that it was my understanding that after the last (coup) sorry change of government that it was illegal for foreigners to register/posses firearms or hold a gun license if you have a link to the contrary I would love if you could post it. Cheers. As per:

ban on the use of guns by foreigners.

The amendment to The Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks, and the Equivalent of Firearms Act 1947 specifies that only Thai nationals can register guns. Prior to this, any foreigner residing in Thailand could make an application, as long as they held a work permit, a house registration and underwent a criminal record check. Tourists were not permitted to buy firearms.

[jacko45k]

Sad state of affairs if to feel safe one needs a gun in the home......

I would worry I might lose patience none night and go round and shoot my neighbour's damned dogs!

[AdamRich]

15 hours ago, connda said:

However, if they use the gun in a home defense situation, most will find themselves in jail for possession of an unregistered firearm.  Not very smart.

No they won't. They fought the burgler and took it from him. Dead me tell no tales.

[Pouatchee]

5 hours ago, mania said:

that is really only true of a revolver

The revolvers are what composes most of the black market sales. About the barrels... do you think the Thai that buys an illegal gun would even know he/she can interchange it?

[connda]

15 hours ago, Charlie Halliday said:

Why the hell does anyone need a gun in thailand! Safest place in South East Asia to live outside Singapore and Hong Kong. 

Home invasions and murder are not uncommon.  Example below that I've seen too many times in the time that I've lived here.  There is a methamphetamine epidemic here as well as people who have no respect for the sanctity of human life and would kill you for a few thousand baht - or - kill you simply because they know that all farangs are "rich."
Like Covid shots, some people want them, others do not.  Same with guns.  It's up to each individual to define what make them 'safe.'  Although it's not wise of be in possession of an unregistered firearm in Thailand.

 

Quote

 

Thailand: UK millionaire and wife found murdered

The bodies of a UK millionaire and his Thai wife have been found in northern Thailand nearly a week after what police suspect was a contract killing.

The bodies of Alan Hogg, 64, and Nod Suddaen, 64, were discovered buried on their property in Phrae province.

Police say Mr Hogg, who was from Edinburgh, was shot dead, while his wife was killed with a hammer.

Source: BBC

 

 

[blackcab]

10 hours ago, starky said:

The amendment to The Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks, and the Equivalent of Firearms Act 1947 specifies that only Thai nationals can register guns.

 

 

No it doesn't. 

 

The Act is not long, so take the time to sit down and read it. Prohibited persons are specified in Section 13.

FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, EXPLOSIVES, FIREWORKS AND IMITATION FIREARMS ACT, B.E.2490 (1947).pdf

[blackcab]

Off topic posts have been removed.

[blackcab]

10 hours ago, starky said:

...if you have a link to the contrary I would love if you could post it.

 

There are three main types of license that are issued to foreigners that allow the possession and use of a firearm in Thailand.

 

The first is the type of license issued to the security teams of foreign heads of government during their visits to Thailand or for certain foreign government staff accredited to an embassy in Thailand. It is for this reason that there is no blanket ban on all non-Thai citizens possessing firearms in Thailand.

 

The second type of license is issued as a temporary permit for sportspeople competing in competitions. A good example of this is the 2022 IPSC Handgun Worldshoot in Pattaya where there will be over 1,000 imported handguns and also ammunition from dozens of countries.

 

The third type of license is issued to foreigners to possess and use a firearm in the same way that Thai citizens are issued a license. The baseline for foreigners to apply is that the applicant must hold permanent residency in the Kingdom and also be employed and have a stable income. This being said, the grant of a license is a privilege and not a right so DOPA or the Provincial department may refuse to accept a submission for any reason or no reason at all.

 

Remember that such a license would only allow the possession and use of the firearm for either a. hunting or b. protection of life and property at the specified address only. The open carry of firearms by the public in Thailand is prohibited, and concealed carry permits are rarely issued to Thai citizens. For non-Thai citizens applying in the third category I mentioned above then it is going to be almost impossible to obtain a concealed carry permit.

[starky]

36 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

There are three main types of license that are issued to foreigners that allow the possession and use of a firearm in Thailand.

 

The first is the type of license issued to the security teams of foreign heads of government during their visits to Thailand or for certain foreign government staff accredited to an embassy in Thailand. It is for this reason that there is no blanket ban on all non-Thai citizens possessing firearms in Thailand.

 

The second type of license is issued as a temporary permit for sportspeople competing in competitions. A good example of this is the 2022 IPSC Handgun Worldshoot in Pattaya where there will be over 1,000 imported handguns and also ammunition from dozens of countries.

 

The third type of license is issued to foreigners to possess and use a firearm in the same way that Thai citizens are issued a license. The baseline for foreigners to apply is that the applicant must hold permanent residency in the Kingdom and also be employed and have a stable income. This being said, the grant of a license is a privilege and not a right so DOPA or the Provincial department may refuse to accept a submission for any reason or no reason at all.

 

Remember that such a license would only allow the possession and use of the firearm for either a. hunting or b. protection of life and property at the specified address only. The open carry of firearms by the public in Thailand is prohibited, and concealed carry permits are rarely issued to Thai citizens. For non-Thai citizens applying in the third category I mentioned above then it is going to be almost impossible to obtain a concealed carry permit.

Yes so as I said you basically need to be a Thai citizen. A foreigner can not register, purchase nor possess a firearm in Thailand. Example 1 applies to basically no one and is a very specific example not relating to the average foreigner living here. Example 2 applies mostly I assume to people bringing their own weapons into the country to compete. As for example 3 what percentage of foreigners in the Kingdom make PR or citizenship. So yeah you got me on the technicality but to say foreigners can get a gun license is guiding the lily. So for all intents and purposes I would state foreigners living in Thailand ain't able to get a gun license.

[roo860]

On 9/3/2022 at 3:35 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

We've been burgled twice over the years. One time was when we were in bed asleep and he woke the wife who then woke me. My wife, after that, was a gibbering wreck. She sort help from a local policeman friend who gave her a 9mm automatic pistol for security until we could have security grills fitted.

 

When you said he woke your wife, I thought maybe he fancied a cup of tea.

????

[blackcab]

22 minutes ago, starky said:

Yes so as I said you basically need to be a Thai citizen. A foreigner can not register, purchase nor possess a firearm in Thailand. Example 1 applies to basically no one and is a very specific example not relating to the average foreigner living here. Example 2 applies mostly I assume to people bringing their own weapons into the country to compete. As for example 3 what percentage of foreigners in the Kingdom make PR or citizenship. So yeah you got me on the technicality but to say foreigners can get a gun license is guiding the lily. So for all intents and purposes I would state foreigners living in Thailand ain't able to get a gun license.

 

You do not need to be a Thai citizen. Non-Thai citizens who hold permanent residency can apply.

 

If you read my previous post you will see that I said that 99.99% of foreigners would not be eligible. The point I was making is that there is a blanket misconception that foreigners cannot own a firearm in Thailand. That is not the case as permanent residents are eligible to apply. Nothing changed due to the much discussed amendment.

 

This is the point I was making. Time and time again people incorrectly state that no foreigner can own a firearm in Thailand when in reality the eligibility criteria is the same that it has always been.

[peterfranks]

On 9/3/2022 at 3:35 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

She sort help from a local policeman friend who gave her a 9mm automatic pistol for security until we could have security grills fitted.

So a policeman gave an armed pistol to an unlicensed and inexperienced citizen? What could be wrong with this.

 

Not having a go at you or your wife, but that policeman would be removed from the force in any country that uphelds the law.

[IvorBiggun2]

5 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

Not having a go at you or your wife, but that policeman would be removed from the force in any country that uphelds the law.

But this is Thailand.

[peterfranks]

Just now, IvorBiggun2 said:

But this is Thailand.

Yes this is Thailand, have you even considered what could go wrong if a criminal entered your house, and you inexperienced wife having a loaded gun in her hands.

 

Hint, it could actually turn out against her

[connda]

1 hour ago, starky said:

Yes so as I said you basically need to be a Thai citizen. A foreigner can not register, purchase nor possess a firearm in Thailand. Example 1 applies to basically no one and is a very specific example not relating to the average foreigner living here. Example 2 applies mostly I assume to people bringing their own weapons into the country to compete. As for example 3 what percentage of foreigners in the Kingdom make PR or citizenship. So yeah you got me on the technicality but to say foreigners can get a gun license is guiding the lily. So for all intents and purposes I would state foreigners living in Thailand ain't able to get a gun license.

There are always 'experts' out there that claim to know the laws but have never dealt with the process of purchasing and registering a firearm.

[IvorBiggun2]

52 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

Yes this is Thailand, have you even considered what could go wrong if a criminal entered your house, and you inexperienced wife having a loaded gun in her hands.

The thing was that my wife was never going to handle the gun in the event of an intruder returning. The Intentions were that I, ex military, was going to use it. My wife would take responsibility and admit she used it on the intruder. This was all in agreement with the policeman who supplied the gun. He said in the event of s***  happening all would be sorted after. I know that sounds a bit dramatic but thankfully s*** never happened and my wife calmed down..

[dirtybirty]

On 9/3/2022 at 9:28 AM, Lemsta69 said:

I've been hearing stories like that since I first hit Samui in mid-1997. hard to know if it's an urban myth or legit. but I was told so many different stories by many different people about such things so I'm tending towards the latter.

agreed samui since 2002 , in old days most prop . now seriously doubt it . but still RTP mafia on samui still just as useless and corrupt 

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 9/3/2022 at 4:08 PM, Lacessit said:

Mass shootings, which are common in the USA, do not seem to happen here, probably because Thai teenagers and assorted nutjobs can't buy semi-automatic weapons

There was a big mass shooting here in early 2020. Former soldier killed 29 during a rampage in a shopping mall with automatic weapons.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-thailand-shooting-idUKKBN2020T7

[Lacessit]

38 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

There was a big mass shooting here in early 2020. Former soldier killed 29 during a rampage in a shopping mall with automatic weapons.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-thailand-shooting-idUKKBN2020T7

You have a statistical sample of one, of which I was not aware.

Given mass shootings in America seem to happen a couple of times a month, sometimes in schools, I doubt the two countries are comparable.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

The thing was that my wife was never going to handle the gun in the event of an intruder returning. The Intentions were that I, ex military, was going to use it. My wife would take responsibility and admit she used it on the intruder. This was all in agreement with the policeman who supplied the gun. He said in the event of s***  happening all would be sorted after. I know that sounds a bit dramatic but thankfully s*** never happened and my wife calmed down..

And how would all this 'arrangement' play out if:

- There's a more thorough investigation which openly highlighs that 'the wife did it' is not physically possible?

- The corrupt cop suddenly wants a a big fat envelope to continue his 'support'?

- The corrupt cop dies in a car accident or from sudden severe sickness etc?

- ....

Edited September 4, 2022 by scorecard

[scorecard]

On 9/3/2022 at 11:49 AM, trainman34014 said:

When you have Police and Soldiers selling Guns to anyone for the right price there will always be 'A Problem' !

E.G: 

1). Many members will recall there's been many break in at Army camps and many guns stolen over at least several decades.

 

2).The report here about 2 years back re an ex policeman who had sold 172 assorted handguns to teenagers in Pattaya in the preceeding 6 months. He had bought the handguns from various illegal sources, including 'sell/give me your handgun and i'll get the investigation your subject to dropped ...'.

 

3). I asked for a management consultant from the US with special economics analysis skills to join my team in Bkk for a week. He came, never been outside of the US before this assignment.

 

He arrived at our office about 9:00 am on first day, as expected. Opened his brief case and put a handgun on the desk. Staff all stood back and called me. I asked "Why did you bring this handgun into the office?" He launched into a loud spiel about his handgun being confiscated when he boarded his aircraft in the US, and about "I have no intention of walking around anywhere / any country without a sidearm."

 

I asked him where he got it, His response "I asked at the hotel lobby where I could quickly buy a handgun, the lobby staff didn't really understand 'handgun' so he quickly found a photo using his smartphone, then they suggested he go to Jatujuk market and ask there, he did that and 20 minutes later back in the taxi and back to his hotel with his purchase, no documents whatever. He didn't show the handgun to any hotel staff.

 

I explained (had to insist) that he could not go our clients office ( a very big very profesional Thai company) with a handgun in his bag.

 

He wanted to call his office in the US to demand they tell me it was all OK. I refused to engage in any such discussion and made it clear he had 2 choices 'lock the gun in our company safe or take the next flight back to the US.' He put it in our safe but he wasn't given the combination details.

 

Late that afternoon I asked him 'what are you going to do with the handgun when you leave Thailand? He responded 'put it in my cabin bag'. I assured him he wouldn't get the gun through the security check before boarding which produced the typical 'nobody tells me what to do'. He then indicated he would put it in his check-in bag. But when he got back to the US he discovered the locks on his suitcase had been opened and the bag taped shut with many metres of duct tape and the gun had been removed. 

 

I have no details where the handgun was removed from his suitcase but I suspect it was removed at Bangkok airport.  

Edited September 4, 2022 by scorecard

[starky]

9 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

You do not need to be a Thai citizen. Non-Thai citizens who hold permanent residency can apply.

 

If you read my previous post you will see that I said that 99.99% of foreigners would not be eligible. The point I was making is that there is a blanket misconception that foreigners cannot own a firearm in Thailand. That is not the case as permanent residents are eligible to apply. Nothing changed due to the much discussed amendment.

 

This is the point I was making. Time and time again people incorrectly state that no foreigner can own a firearm in Thailand when in reality the eligibility criteria is the same that it has always been.

Except of course for the glaringly obvious fact that prior to yhe amendment you didnt need to be pr. 

Edited September 4, 2022 by starky

[blackcab]

2 minutes ago, starky said:

Except of course for the glaringly obvious fact you didnt need to be pr. 

 

In my experience I have not met a non-Thai citizen who obtained a firearms license without PR. I'm sure it's happened in the past, but I don't believe that the eligibility criteria in recent times has been a work permit and no PR.

 

I could be wrong and I am happy to be corrected if any member has obtained a firearm license without PR.

[starky]

8 hours ago, connda said:

There are always 'experts' out there that claim to know the laws but have never dealt with the process of purchasing and registering a firearm.

And yet there are self delusional anonymous fools who think they have the ability to comment about people they know zero about.

[starky]

49 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

In my experience I have not met a non-Thai citizen who obtained a firearms license without PR. I'm sure it's happened in the past, but I don't believe that the eligibility criteria in recent times has been a work permit and no PR.

 

I could be wrong and I am happy to be corrected if any member has obtained a firearm license without PR.

Without going into it, many years ago I started the process and was told pr was not necessary though your point is certainly a valid one. I wonder further to that if at the time of the new legislation, if there are foreigners who weren't pr and had guns that had their licenses revoked. Had to turn in any firearms they possessed or if they got grandfathered in. 

[Artisi]

22 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

An  option I  though about, although never needed  any guns  here in 15 years, PAINTBALL  guns......I dont see them for sale easily but do see paintball clubs.this would be for close  range intruder  deterrent ie whack em in the face with  10 or  so and theyd  soon be off  missing an eye or two.

Anyone know who sells  them?

Air-soft rifle / pistol shooting a 6mm hard plastic ball are a better option, readily available over the counter at many places. At close range these pack a mighty whack and can be set for rapid fire and will deter anyone very quickly.