Thailand’s firearm frenzy: Tops ASEAN in guns, 13th in global tragedy

[webfact]

Thailand has the most firearms in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and lies 13th in the world for the most firearm deaths according to Switzerland’s Small Arms Survey (SAS).

 

Following yesterday’s shooting at the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, questions have been raised about the ease with which Thais can access and own guns.

 

Locals say that Thai laws on the possession and sale of firearms are not strict enough as a 14 year old boy easily managed to obtain a gun.

 

In Thailand, people found in possession of a firearm without a permit can face a fine of up to 20,000 baht and a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The process of obtaining a gun permit entails several stages and training.

 

According to a report by Channel 3, despite the stringent laws regarding illegal firearm possession in Thailand, the issue remains unresolved. 

 

by Petch Petpailin

Photo by Tom Def via Unsplash

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-05

 

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[Tarteso]

With 7.2 million privately owed guns and only six million registered...

 

This is a powder keg ????

[findlay13]

Speculation . How do they know how many guns? The Phillipines has many illegal firearms .There are "cottage industries" making black market handguns there, but they say Thailand has the most?  So have  been talking lessons on numbers from TAT ? Australia has had strict gun laws from 1996 and earlier than that for handguns  but the crims have no problem obtaining them.If I remember correctly the cops "guesstimate" there's 250,000 illegal weapons there.

[RichardColeman]

Just ban all guns outside of law enforcement - unless you have problems with rampant elephants nearby.

 

Order them all be handed in. And make finding one in your possession a 5 years sentence and using one in assault a mandatory life sentence. There is simply no reason for gun ownership in modern and non-crazy society.

[Dogmatix]

The UK and NZ paid the market price for licensed guns seized by the government? Will Thailand do the same? I don’t think so. They would have to find a budget of around 500 billion to do that, similar to the cost of their digital wallet and we know that many of guns would not be destroyed but would be sold on the black market by crooked officials. 
 

We also need to consider the main importer of the guns that makes the most money from them is Anutin’s very own Interior Ministry through the Civil Service welfare scheme that imports more guns to sell at a discount than that the meagre import quotas it assigns to all of Thailand’s gunshops put together. 
 

Finally let’s not lose sight of the fact that the Siam Paragon shooter used a home made gun, not a licensed weapon. A quick win for Anutin would be to ban the import and sale of blank firing replica guns like the one modified by the Paragon shooter. There is no need for them in any sports. And how about doing something about the army range in Bangkok where he trained with an army instructor visible in the video. The range is only supposed to be for members who should be over 20 years old. Ranges should be restricted to members and permits should be checked for personal guns taken to ranges. As it is Thai firing ranges are filled with wealthy Chinese tourists shooting guns bought for them by Thai nominees. We know already that none of the simple, cheap fixes my last para will be even looked at.

[Sydebolle]

Thailand’s firearm frenzy: Tops ASEAN in guns, 13th in global tragedy

The hub - explained - how sad! 

[NemoH]

It is not the gun problem … if knives were used .. do you ban knives or get people who buy knives be registered?

 

The Siam gunner was a neglected, mentally abused and totally tortured son of 2 well known professors in a renown local university. The parents refused to turn up even after they were informed of his shooting. His uncle was interviewed in TV .. lamenting that the black sheep gunner was causing problems for everybody… Siam was his ‘place’ since young because he was forced to tuition centres all located in Siam area…so sad for him .. 

if you have parents like these .. you will go mad … and have mental problems too. 

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

With 7.2 million privately owed guns and only six million registered...

 

This is a powder keg ????

And probably triple that illegally held.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

In Thailand, people found in possession of a firearm without a permit can face a fine of up to 20,000 baht and a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

You can get more than that for smoking on the beach

[Mywayboy]

The powers to be will be working hard on this to achieve No. 1 ranking on this.

Or maybe lose FACE.

[2baht]

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

With 7.2 million privately owed guns and only six million registered...

 

This is a powder keg ????

Half these are manhood extensions! Makes them feel bigger and better! ????

[hkt83100]

26 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

You can get more than that for smoking on the beach

Or feeding fish. Or collecting mushrooms.

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

people found in possession of a firearm without a permit can face a fine of up to 20,000 baht and a prison sentence of up to 10 years

But we also know how Thailand enforces its laws..., so what's the average a convict faces (after reduction by half, and again by half, and a Royal Pardon)?

[hotchilli]

54 minutes ago, hkt83100 said:

Or feeding fish. Or collecting mushrooms.

Touching a sea cucumber...

[Dionigi]

2 hours ago, findlay13 said:

Speculation . How do they know how many guns? The Phillipines has many illegal firearms .There are "cottage industries" making black market handguns there, but they say Thailand has the most?  So have  been talking lessons on numbers from TAT ? Australia has had strict gun laws from 1996 and earlier than that for handguns  but the crims have no problem obtaining them.If I remember correctly the cops "guesstimate" there's 250,000 illegal weapons there.

according to https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country Philippines has 7.9/100,000 , Thailand has 3.1/100 000 and Australia 0.91/100,000 So I guess the gun control laws do seem to have an effect on  the number of gun deaths.

[Expat68]

Time they stopped following America's gun culture 

[Speedhump]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

... modern and non-crazy society.

Excuse me, but we are talking about laissez-faire, highly regulated but loosely controlled Thailand (which I love, by the way)

[trainman34014]

A lot of it is about the usual 'Face' problem which is a horrid blight on the whole Community.  Small Men with small minds and small d***s have a big 'Face' problem and to them one way to solve that problem is to have a big Black Crew Cab Pick-Up that snarls up your Tailgate on the outside lane whilst they sit on a Cushion big enough to let them see over the steering wheel; makes them look 'Strong' they say.     Problem is those Trucks don't come cheap, so unless Granny will gaurantee the unpayable loan, a Motorbike with a Loud Exhaust and a Gun are much cheaper for them to exert their 'Manhood' !!

[Kaopad999]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Just ban all guns outside of law enforcement - unless you have problems with rampant elephants nearby.

 

Order them all be handed in. And make finding one in your possession a 5 years sentence and using one in assault a mandatory life sentence. There is simply no reason for gun ownership in modern and non-crazy society.

Bad idea.  Thailand has lower robbery rates becasue wrongdoers are aware that some individuals may be packing heat for self-defense. Removing guns from the equation could potentially lead to a situation similar to the UK and other countries with stricter firearm regulations, where home invasions and robberies can occur more frequently

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, NemoH said:

It is not the gun problem … if knives were used .. do you ban knives or get people who buy knives be registered?

 

The Siam gunner was a neglected, mentally abused and totally tortured son of 2 well known professors in a renown local university. The parents refused to turn up even after they were informed of his shooting. His uncle was interviewed in TV .. lamenting that the black sheep gunner was causing problems for everybody… Siam was his ‘place’ since young because he was forced to tuition centres all located in Siam area…so sad for him .. 

if you have parents like these .. you will go mad … and have mental problems too. 

So, what to do? How about holding neglectful parents responsible? Your kid kills strangers in cold blood? You serve a mandatory 5 year prison sentence. It might get the attention of people who do not even know how to spell the "art of parenting".

[lks7689]

10 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Bad idea.  Thailand has lower robbery rates becasue wrongdoers are aware that some individuals may be packing heat for self-defense. Removing guns from the equation could potentially lead to a situation similar to the UK and other countries with stricter firearm regulations, where home invasions and robberies can occur more frequently

I come from Singapore and the home invasion threats I usually encounter are from creepy crawlies. And how has packing heat helped countries like US? 

[Mr Meeseeks]

33 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Bad idea.  Thailand has lower robbery rates becasue wrongdoers are aware that some individuals may be packing heat for self-defense. Removing guns from the equation could potentially lead to a situation similar to the UK and other countries with stricter firearm regulations, where home invasions and robberies can occur more frequently

Nonsense. 

 

Robberies and home burglaries are very common here. Why do you think there are bars on all the windows?

[UbonEagle]

Not related to this case, but I wonder how many of the firearms out there are related to the obviously poor security systems the police and military have in place for weapons security ?

have read of countless cases here over the years where 1 kid has shot another playing with dads unsecured gun at home …

[neeray]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

You can get more than that for smoking on the beach

More if you are a farang.

[reefsurfah]

3 hours ago, NemoH said:

It is not the gun problem … if knives were used .. do you ban knives or get people who buy knives be registered?

 

The Siam gunner was a neglected, mentally abused and totally tortured son of 2 well known professors in a renown local university. The parents refused to turn up even after they were informed of his shooting. His uncle was interviewed in TV .. lamenting that the black sheep gunner was causing problems for everybody… Siam was his ‘place’ since young because he was forced to tuition centres all located in Siam area…so sad for him .. 

if you have parents like these .. you will go mad … and have mental problems too. 

Knives are easier to defend against, no reason to ban.  Banning guns will just make it harder but people will always find a way.

[Kaopad999]

18 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Nonsense. 

 

Robberies and home burglaries are very common here. Why do you think there are bars on all the windows?

removing firearms from the equation here; it could result in a very bad situation where robbers and crooks illegally obtain firearms, which would leave you with very little self-defense if they were to robb your home. I believe that every individual should have the right to protect their home, and those who unlawfully break into your home should be met with a  gun. if someone  breaks into my home, i see that as a direct threat to my life. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

12 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

removing firearms from the equation here; it could result in a very bad situation where robbers and crooks illegally obtain firearms, which would leave you with very little self-defense if they were to robb your home. I believe that every individual should have the right to protect their home, and those who unlawfully break into your home should be met with a  gun. if someone  breaks into my home, i see that as a direct threat to my life. 

As a foreigner, you are not legally allowed to own a firearm though?

[radiochaser]

36 minutes ago, lks7689 said:

I come from Singapore and the home invasion threats I usually encounter are from creepy crawlies. And how has packing heat helped countries like US? 

Saved me from being attacked by a drug user that had told his girlfriend he wanted to kill me.  Then he later, kicked the door in where I lived.    I didn't shoot him, but would have if he had not stopped when I pointed my pistol at him.   Instead he turned and left. 

I reported it to the local police, two of them came to the house and took a report.  The police asked what his last name was, I didn't know, but described where he lived.   They knew who he was!!!     The police did nothing, even though I had a witness that confirmed he had threatened to kill me and kicked my front door in.   

What most news media does not report, about the so called "gun crime" (actually criminal behavior), in their news reporting, almost all the "gun crime" is committed by, criminals, not law abiding citizens.   Most of those criminals commit a felony by illegal possession of a stolen firearm or a strawman purchased firearm.   Illegal possession because they were previously charged with felony violation of criminal law, and by law, are no longer, legally, allowed to possess a firearm of any kind!

 

[GypsyT]

Has free gun ownership made US safe? No. It's getting worse...

2024 election may trigger Civil War II

 

"More than 1,300 children and teens have been killed by guns so far this year.
Firearms are now the No. 1 killer of children and teens in America, having surpassed motor vehicles accidents, which had been the leading cause of death among America’s youth until 2020.  
Just as cars and roads were becoming safer, guns were killing more and more kids in America: Federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the number of gun deaths among US children and teenagers rose 50 percent between 2019 and 2021. But this terrible trendline cannot be articulated through datasets alone."

 

[keithkarmann]

In the hands of some poorly educated owners (I have experienced this) what can go wrong? Not educated enough to be able to work things out without losing their temper and grabbing a gun or knife (I have experienced this as well and could have lost an arm if I had not been prepared with a big piece of bamboo).