Bangkok Gun Shops: What's Inside And Why Tourists Can't Buy

[mayday49]

What ever happened to the "visa" run to Lao with the gun shop tours?

[aussiejosh]

To be honest I prefer to be able to defend myself rather than rely on others to do it for me.

Yes I know we have all heard this argument before but if everyone had guns it would be a lot harder to pull off things like Brevik did in Sweeden, instead of running around for 45 minutes in his free reign of terror; if people had turned around and returned fire he wouldn't have killed as many people as he did.

Those people left their hands in the lives of others and paid dearly for it.

Now I don't want everybody to have a gun, but can't really complain if I want one myself. Everyone should have the right to defend themselves.

[aussiejosh]

How many criminals have gun permits?

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society. But, a firearm makes it easier for an armed mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat - it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force, watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier, works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply would not work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation--and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

Marko Kloos

That settles it, next time i go somewhere with bargirls im bringing my watergun and telling them to leave me alone or else.

Seriously thought, that was a well written well thought out post.

What language are you people talking?

Reason.

[jongkolkhoo]

So, let me get this straight. Have the gun ownership laws for foreigners now changed? I understood from previous topics on TV that is was basically not possible for a foreigner to legally own a hand gun in Thailand.

If this has now changed, do you need a permit for each gun? If you have one, do you have to register it?

It would seem that I can qualify for a gun permit.

I have WP, yellow Tabien Baan and some assets. Oh, and a clear criminal record, of course.

yes you can apply for a gun but you need to part with some $$ to get the proper document.

[Drafi]

Can you imagine that American, German, Japanese, Australian citizens etc., resident in their own respective countries would allow / accept a law which said 'locals' cannot kill / maim people who happen to be on their 'property' but visitors to that same country can do this?

Unfortunately, this has become a sad reality in Germany since many years. Whereas muslim migrants from certain known nations get from the German jurisdiction a "migrants' bonus" and get away with anything this does not apply to the native German population.

If e.g. a German is attacked by a migrant and dares to defend himself the German is likely to be condemned. Chancellor Merkel declared publicly when speaking of migrants criminality: "We have to endure this". Of course, when she said "we" she doesn't mean herself. She and the politicans are well guarded and shielded off.

[Skywalker69]

Just out of curocity, is there any game hunting in Thailand, birds etc...?

Never heard about any hunters butwhat do I know?

Poaching is a national sport.

Jo Dennis, Thais hunt and kill EVERYTHING what is not on the tree when they counted to three.... Check out the Isaan for example, no more birds (except chickens) no snakes (except these one in cages of the ppl sale anti snake poison) and no other animals bigger as a Gekko.....even the Tokeys they hunt down and eat them....and in Sokunakhorn even dogs.... so they do hunt here .... pretty EVERYTHING except Ants and Cockroaches.... but wait, I see cockroaches yesterday on a market...deep fried

If it moves it´s edible.

[Zatoichi]

Yeah this is one of the things I really miss about the States. I had a license to carry since I was 21yrs old. Used to carry a Glock model 22, the full size .40 cal.

Not a pretty piece, but, great stopping power, and a decent (17+1) capacity. It's like all the velocity of a 9mm with allot of the stopping power of the.45 It was the first gun I ever bought, just $400 second hand in good condition many years ago.

I'm thinking now about the .45 mainly because I'm not sure how readily available the .40 call is for practice, and if worse comes to worse, availability in a prolonged crisis. For that I guess the 9mm would be better, I just don't really like the 9mm that much.

Anyone here have any suggestions? I'm also considering a 12gauge for the house, how much will they cost?

I'm considering either the

Taurus 24/7 45 ACP OSS

Or the

Glock 21

I'm looking at like 100,000 Baht for either one arn't I?

[Zatoichi]

Don't mind me guys, American, coming through. BTW- Yes, this is LEGAL in the good ol US of A.

" Ohhh, I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.... To shooooooot a gun big enough, to chop down a full grown tree"

hehe.

I think I just had a gungasim from the epicness of that post

[heiwa]

With latest statistics showing that there was 20,032 gun murders in Thailand (Thailand ranks No.3 Bronze Medal) in the most recent year of statistics - only South Africa and Colombia worse. So I can only conclude shouldn't all tourists be able to buy a gun as self defence 555. And then bodies turn up all over the place in the decades to come which are not in those numbers.

Edited April 22, 2012 by heiwa

[meand]

I fall on the pro gun side of things in general. I even own (out of country) the aforementioned glock 22 above, that thing is like a work of art I swear.

Having said all that, if I had to guess, i'd bet if gun sales to foreigners went up here, that deaths would rise as well. There is just too large a population of drunk and unstable people living here. That is all conjecture, but this board is about opinions, so there is mine. Also, if somebody living here really wants a gun, they can probably get it via their wife or even girlfriend. As far as i'm concerned, there is no good reason to lessen the restrictions on farangs buying guns here, but if that is what Thais want to do, so be it.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Even though I'd like to buy one, the fact that my name and address would be on a list, along with the virtual certainty that a "burglar" would find a gun at my address, is pretty much a deal killer- given the trustworthiness of some fraction of the police here.

For twelve years I've used the same maildrop address for absolutely everything, and never put my name down on anything associated with the place where I actually live. They also pay all my bills for me for a 15 baht service fee, forward mail, accept faxes etc., very handy when I'm not around.

Many reasons that's a good practice, and no I'm not "hiding" from anyone, just don't choose to broadcast my physical location, only give it to people I want to actually invite over to visit.

Civilised countrys in Europe doesn`t allow too much weapons

The Swiss would disagree, one of the most heavily armed and safest countries in the world.

Not saying one follows the other, just sayin'. . .

[Tanaka]

EVERY SINGLE TOPIC (no matter what it is) involving firearms/guns is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS jumped upon by anti-gun crowd who will always spout off about how guns are evil and "if it were up to them..." Ultimately what it results in is that no one can exchange any useful information about guns on this forum (such as "how do I obtain a permit" or "how do I import" ) because the thread always gets hijacked by the anti-gun lobby.

This if fact: firearm ownership is legal in Thailand. Deal with it. If private gun ownership is truly disturbing to you, then by all means move to a country which bans it. No one is stopping you. If you are in Thailand, you accept Thailand's laws. It is very presumptuous to move to another country and think that the host country should adapt to you, rather than vice versa. To illustrate the point, imagine someone from the middle east moving to England, and upon getting to England they start saying "you know in our country, women wear birkas. All women in England should have to wear birkas too." I'm sure you're not going to be too happy about that.

And that is just what some religious fundamentalists in the UK and other EU countries are saying! (It is burka)

[chooka]

If a tourist feels the need to carry a gun whilst on holiday relaxing by the pool drinking cocktails I suggest he find a safer place to holiday where he can have a relaxing care free holiday. Try the west coast of Australia, beautiful white sandy beaches that stretch 20,000 kms and hardly a soul to be seen in days, no need to carry a firearm.

[PingManDan]

Webfact, thank you so much for posting this article. It answers alot of questions I had about Thai gun law. Every time I asked on the forum I got a bunch of <snip> spouting off on how guns are evil rather than an answer to my questions.

I'm with you, our house is protected by Smith & Wesson, guns are only "evil" in the hands of crimes etc., I totally believe in owning a gun, if so desired, especially if the law does a extensive back ground check first, here and abroad

[Arkady]

can you register your address to bangkok. then buy the gun and regiater it to that address. then change your residence address to where u live in thailand and then transfer the gun liscence back to your address.

It is not about just a "register the address". It is about having the "tabien baan", a property owner's book or how they call that. A blue one for the main owner, and a yellow one for co-owner (as far as I understand the difference between these two). And there is your full address, registered at the provincial municipality (amphur).

Renting a condo in Bkk will NOT provide you even a yellow tabien-baan. You will not be registered at amphur this way, so.....forget it.

Things may have changed since then but the last time I looked at the gun owning regulations there was no specific mention of nationality but, as mentioned here, a tabien baan is one of the required documents and that is often the stumbling block for foreign wannabe gun owners. Time was that getting on a tabien baan was difficult for foreigners without permanent residence but that was changed by the 2008 Civil Registration Act which makes it mandatory for district offices to register all foreigners residing in their districts. I have had a blue tabien baan for years and I can't say if yellow tabien baans are accepted but I can't see any reason why not. In Bangkok licences are issued by the specific police bureau which can expected to follow the regulations fairly strictly but in the provinces they are issued by the provincial adminstrations and individual governors have the right to apply stricter regulations, if they feel like it, e.g. the governor of Phuket decided on a policy of no guns for foreigners a few years ago. Since all applicants are required to have jobs/ occupations with a minimum income, it follows that foreigners also have to have work permits.

Edited June 17, 2012 by Arkady

[sunshine51]

Don't mind me guys, American, coming through. BTW- Yes, this is LEGAL in the good ol US of A.

" Ohhh, I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.... To shooooooot a gun big enough, to chop down a full grown tree"

hehe.

This is a load of BS. I know this is an old thread but miniguns are not

legal to own. Simple as that. There are many places one can visit and

fire one but own one...nope. Besides...the recoil from the M134 7.62mm minigun is too strong for even a large man to manage handheld. So was

the recoil from the M214 microgun which weighed around 80+ pounds complete with 1000 round ammo supply. The M134 weighs a hell of a lot more....just FYI

Edited August 1, 2012 by sunshine51

[jerrysteve]

I think your more likely to get shot and killed by a cop here, than by a criminal element.

Of course if you consider the cops here criminals your odds of getting shot are much higher.

The word "Bang" in here, not to be confused with the word the our fellow Brits use which is shagging.

[boggle]

Useless to buy a hand gun here because you can not own a hand gun in Australia.

Rubbish!

[Reasonableman]

Useless to buy a hand gun here because you can not own a hand gun in Australia.

This is incorrect. Handguns are tightly controlled in Australia, but it is possible to own one (or more) legally. Go through the process and purchase in Australia. Buying here makes no sense.

[SIamYank]

The post does not say that a foreigner is supposed to prove that they own a house. Only that they have a legal house registration. I am pretty sure that they are referring to the to a Tambien Baan (aka. yellow book) for foreigners. This is pretty easy to get if you have family in Thailand. For me it took a signed letter from my Pu Yai Baan attesting to my relationship with my wife, two passport photos, a copy of my passport with visa and a 2 hour visit to my Amphur office with my wife and another witness. Very simple. I do not own the land or the house that the yellow book ties me to.

If you can I would suggest getting one. It allows you do to more things on your own... not just buy a gun.[quote name=whyz' timestamp='1325501967'

post='4950274]

I am not Texan, but I wish. really respect the way they handle things down there. I would be proud to be Texan, but was not blessed by birth.

Then you should go there. plane tickets are not that expensive these days.

And don't take it personally, but maniacs are always told to go somewhere else regardless to their nationality.

Failure at logic.

Since the law allows it here and you disagree with it it is clearly you that should be flying somewhere else...

Well said, again!

I hope it doesn't offend all the people that have no interest in this topic, but I would like to say something ON TOPIC:

-I don't understand how a foreigner is supposed to prove that they own a house when foreigners are not even permitted to own land. Do you just show that you own a minority of a company that owns a house?

[Arkady]

The post does not say that a foreigner is supposed to prove that they own a house. Only that they have a legal house registration. I am pretty sure that they are referring to the to a Tambien Baan (aka. yellow book) for foreigners. This is pretty easy to get if you have family in Thailand. For me it took a signed letter from my Pu Yai Baan attesting to my relationship with my wife, two passport photos, a copy of my passport with visa and a 2 hour visit to my Amphur office with my wife and another witness. Very simple. I do not own the land or the house that the yellow book ties me to.

The Civil Registration Act of 2008 requires district offices to register all foreigners residing in their districts, including those on temporary visas. It doesn't stipulate that the foreigners have to be married to Thais or have a good relationship. This seems to be some nonsense made up by individual district offices out of noseyness and xenophobia. All they need is evidence that you have permission from the owner of the property you have applied to be registered at to live there. With the right documentation you can be registered as the householder of the property without owning it. I went to the district office by myself before I had met my Thai wife and registered myself as the householder of a house in a blue tabien baan years ago with no fuss.

On the other hand I am not sure if a Thor Ror 13 "yellow" tabien baan is accepted by the gun licensing authorities. I rather doubt it as a gun license (not a concealed carry permit) is a life time permit and issuing that to some one on a temporary visa who might leave at any time would not make much sense, e.g. what happens to the gun if the license holder gets deported or fails to renew their visa. The wording of the regulations covers what happens when the permit holder dies (their heirs can inherit the gun and the license can be transferred) but not the case of the permit holder's temporary visa expiring. I obtained several permits some time ago with a blue tabien baan. Has anyone managed to get one with a yellow tabien baan?

Edited August 10, 2012 by Arkady

[BigC]

The post does not say that a foreigner is supposed to prove that they own a house. Only that they have a legal house registration. I am pretty sure that they are referring to the to a Tambien Baan (aka. yellow book) for foreigners. This is pretty easy to get if you have family in Thailand. For me it took a signed letter from my Pu Yai Baan attesting to my relationship with my wife, two passport photos, a copy of my passport with visa and a 2 hour visit to my Amphur office with my wife and another witness. Very simple. I do not own the land or the house that the yellow book ties me to.

The Civil Registration Act of 2008 requires district offices to register all foreigners residing in their districts, including those on temporary visas. It doesn't stipulate that the foreigners have to be married to Thais or have a good relationship. This seems to be some nonsense made up by individual district offices out of noseyness and xenophobia. All they need is evidence that you have permission from the owner of the property you have applied to be registered at to live there. With the right documentation you can be registered as the householder of the property without owning it. I went to the district office by myself before I had met my Thai wife and registered myself as the householder of a house in a blue tabien baan years ago with no fuss. On the other hand I am not sure if a Thor Ror 13 "yellow" tabien baan is accepted by the gun licensing authorities. I rather doubt it as a gun license (not a concealed carry permit) is a life time permit and issuing that to some one on a temporary visa who might leave at any time would not make much sense, e.g. what happens to the gun if the license holder gets deported or fails to renew their visa. The wording of the regulations covers what happens when the permit holder dies (their heirs can inherit the gun and the license can be transferred) but not the case of the permit holder's temporary visa expiring. I obtained several permits some time ago with a blue tabien baan. Has anyone managed to get one with a yellow tabien baan?

sorry to0 cut a long story short did u manage to obtain a gun with your blue tabian baan.

i have a friend who is applying for a gun with his wife. mainly to protect the house but even though the wife has money from her own back ground right now she does not have a job apparently it is one of the requirement.

laws vary depending on provence but i have asked about suratthani i was told to forget it. even if the mayor was to sign me a gun lisence it would still be illegal as the thai people do not want forangs bying guns here. Plane and simple as the Thai law is to protect Thai people.

Like you said there would be nothing stopping am forang purchacing a gun then shooting somone then going home.

i suppose if one was to be deposrted then the business would also have to be transferred. so i do not know if a company could own a lisence in a company name with forang share holders.

i was advised by a thai lawyer that if you are outside and you get caught with a gun with or with out a lisence. then you get the same trouble as having a gun with no lisence.

beleive me i have tried all avenues. Asked lawyers, people in government and it just is not possible unless you are Thai

The only way i can imiagine it would be possible but i am not sure is if you have alisence in your own country and you transfer it in the same way as a driving lisence in Thailand but even then i am not sure as being from teh UK they have stupid laws on guns and burglery were you are only alloud to be a victim.

i think if forangs live hear and have a business, wife and family plus already been a victim of a burglkery then guns should be issued. As the forang knows that if they use the weapon un lawfully then there business, their family and everything else is on the line if they get deported.

as for owning a gun to protect your land and house best of getting inm your wife's name as as loing as it is registered to your address ytou can still use it to attack an invader and is someone brakes into your house unlawfully then you would not know if he had a gun or not.

i am sure that your lawyer can argue that for you.

you picked up the closest weapon to you which wa yoiur wife's gun registered to the address that you live in and shot him or her

[rsokolowski]

Guns Kill.

It is their primary function.

It's rather foolish to think that you might not need one.

I was attacked by feral dogs 15 years ago in Northern California. The next time I went to my ranch, I had a Glock 19 with me.One round over the poochies heads and they were gone.

Let's see.. then there was the mountain lion that I thought was the neighbor's dog one night, as I tried to entice it to eat some chicken with me. Closer examination awakened me from my Eau De Vie Poire William fantasy, that the neighbor's dog had come to visit. Closed the bottle...went inside the house for a while.

I no longer own any weapons. Mostly by choice, but also because of theft. This should be a big consideration for anyone living in LOS. The possibility that you may be shot with your own weapon is greater than zero in provinces fueled by YaaBaa, (crank for you Californians).

There is a very large King Cobra living around our house. I have never killed an animal with a weapon. Snakes are of great benefit when you are overrun with mice. I have no desire to kill it and could probably convince it to leave if I could ever figure out where he/she hangs out. Still, this does not mean I would not like a weapon to even the odds in the event the snake wanted to have it's way with me in the biblical sense.

Guns are a pain in the ass...if you take it with you.. it owns you..

Had a crazed man tell me he was going to kill me once. He meant it. My .357 was within a meter of my reach, yet had I gone for it.. he would have dropped me with a small axe, like rice under an Isan scythe. I immediately embraced the man and apologized for whatever indiscretion he felt I had bestowed upon him. Guns can be a rapid ending to a long story.

To say that people are stupid for owning them is like telling a mechanic he is stupid for using metric tools on a Mercedes. There is a time and place for everything.

If Christine LaGarde's predictions are correct, I would highly suggest you invest in a magnum, short barreled shotgun and 50 rounds of deer slugs, because if the world economy collapses...you're going to need it Coolio, just not in Thailand.

Civilised countrys in Europe doesn`t allow too much weapons, I will never understand why USAmericans need them like big bOOb-ies --- Fact is, if one have one he will shoot and a lot of crazy dogs drinking too much doesnt proof me wrong here. .... But with all the weapons around in your glorious country I will never understand why you finally not shoot the RIGHT people and leave the rest of the world alone and at peace

Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Austria are European civilized countries and all allow gun ownership. The Czechs make some of the best handguns in the world (CZ). I have responsibly owned guns most of my adult life, never had one stolen (due to a very good gun safe), and have never shot anyone. If my life or the life of my family is threatened I would use them in self defense. There is a saying here in the USA that it is is better to be judged by twelve (members of a jury) than to carried by six (people carrying my coffin).

Go in peace.

[Barabbas]

Can I get an AAAAHHHH-MEN?

[Arkady]

The post does not say that a foreigner is supposed to prove that they own a house. Only that they have a legal house registration. I am pretty sure that they are referring to the to a Tambien Baan (aka. yellow book) for foreigners. This is pretty easy to get if you have family in Thailand. For me it took a signed letter from my Pu Yai Baan attesting to my relationship with my wife, two passport photos, a copy of my passport with visa and a 2 hour visit to my Amphur office with my wife and another witness. Very simple. I do not own the land or the house that the yellow book ties me to.

The Civil Registration Act of 2008 requires district offices to register all foreigners residing in their districts, including those on temporary visas. It doesn't stipulate that the foreigners have to be married to Thais or have a good relationship. This seems to be some nonsense made up by individual district offices out of noseyness and xenophobia. All they need is evidence that you have permission from the owner of the property you have applied to be registered at to live there. With the right documentation you can be registered as the householder of the property without owning it. I went to the district office by myself before I had met my Thai wife and registered myself as the householder of a house in a blue tabien baan years ago with no fuss. On the other hand I am not sure if a Thor Ror 13 "yellow" tabien baan is accepted by the gun licensing authorities. I rather doubt it as a gun license (not a concealed carry permit) is a life time permit and issuing that to some one on a temporary visa who might leave at any time would not make much sense, e.g. what happens to the gun if the license holder gets deported or fails to renew their visa. The wording of the regulations covers what happens when the permit holder dies (their heirs can inherit the gun and the license can be transferred) but not the case of the permit holder's temporary visa expiring. I obtained several permits some time ago with a blue tabien baan. Has anyone managed to get one with a yellow tabien baan?

sorry to0 cut a long story short did u manage to obtain a gun with your blue tabian baan.

i have a friend who is applying for a gun with his wife. mainly to protect the house but even though the wife has money from her own back ground right now she does not have a job apparently it is one of the requirement.

laws vary depending on provence but i have asked about suratthani i was told to forget it. even if the mayor was to sign me a gun lisence it would still be illegal as the thai people do not want forangs bying guns here. Plane and simple as the Thai law is to protect Thai people.

Like you said there would be nothing stopping am forang purchacing a gun then shooting somone then going home.

i suppose if one was to be deposrted then the business would also have to be transferred. so i do not know if a company could own a lisence in a company name with forang share holders.

i was advised by a thai lawyer that if you are outside and you get caught with a gun with or with out a lisence. then you get the same trouble as having a gun with no lisence.

beleive me i have tried all avenues. Asked lawyers, people in government and it just is not possible unless you are Thai

The only way i can imiagine it would be possible but i am not sure is if you have alisence in your own country and you transfer it in the same way as a driving lisence in Thailand but even then i am not sure as being from teh UK they have stupid laws on guns and burglery were you are only alloud to be a victim.

i think if forangs live hear and have a business, wife and family plus already been a victim of a burglkery then guns should be issued. As the forang knows that if they use the weapon un lawfully then there business, their family and everything else is on the line if they get deported.

as for owning a gun to protect your land and house best of getting inm your wife's name as as loing as it is registered to your address ytou can still use it to attack an invader and is someone brakes into your house unlawfully then you would not know if he had a gun or not.

i am sure that your lawyer can argue that for you.

you picked up the closest weapon to you which wa yoiur wife's gun registered to the address that you live in and shot him or her

Yes, I obtained several gun licenses with my blue tabien baan, WP, employment letter, bank statement some years ago when it was a bit easier. I believe it is hard to get more than one these days and very difficult to get a license for anything larger than a .38 or 9mm, whereas all that was required for a license for a .45 then was a membership card for a shooting club that the gun store would obtain for you for a small additional fee. I had to be interviewed at the local cop shop for the first one to make sure I was of good character, wasn't a gangster, had no enemies and hadn't received any death threats but no further police checks were required for the subsequent permits.

The law doesn't specify that guns have to be used only by Thais to protect Thais at all. There is indeed no mention of nationality with reference to Thai gun laws.

Having a license in another country or not will not be taken into account when you apply for a Thai license but you may import guns from overseas, if you are willing to undertake very burdensome paperwork. I have known two Thais who managed to import shot guns but no foreigners.

Yes, you do need a job as well as minimal amount of money shown in a bank statement to get a permit. I think it was only 40k baht when I did it.

Licences for Bkk residents are issued by the central licencing authority in Bkk. They are all pro-gun people and keen to issue licenses to anyone who qualifies under the national rules. They also get to share the facilitation fees that are paid for virtually all successful applications. So it is also their livelihood. Licenses for those living outside Bkk are the purview of the local authorities and provincial governors can decide to make the national regulations stricter, if they like, but cannot relax them. Therefore, it is entirely possible that foreigners with blue tabien baans who meet all the national qualifications may be refused in various provinces, particularly place like Chonburi, Phuket and Surat where there are large populations of foreigners that include mafia elements.

A registered gun owner may explicitly or implicitly give permission for someone else to use their gun for purpose of protecting life or property at the address at which the gun is registered. That means you could use your wife's registered gun to protect against intruders who have broken into your house and are a threat. I think a Thai court would probably accept that your wife was not be a position to grab the gun in time, was not there at all, or just preferred to delegate the job of shooting intruders to her husband, as long as they believed the intruders were posing a genuine threat to life or limb. As hinted earlier, the license actually states that it is to own and use a gun for the defense of life and property. I don't know what would be considered justifiable use, if you shot someone who was stealing something from your house but presented no threat to life whatsoever. It's probably best to assume that this means life and property not property alone. I remember the police explaining to me that, if an intruder breaks into your home, just shoot him right away (ying pai loeiy) because he has no business to break in, obviously has no good intentions and could have a weapon that you can't see in the dark. However, don't lean out of the window to shoot someone who is prowling around in your garden while everyone is safely in the house. Call the police in that case and only shoot him,if he manages to break in.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Arkady

[NeverSure]

My ex girlfriend, who I am still friends with and very close to, is a Los Angeles Police Department Officer for going on 10 years. I respect her, and I certainly respect her shooting skills (like she ALWAYS outshot me at the range). We have had talks about guns, and I have talked about guns with other police officers in the states. The 100% consensus thus far is that the police do not want to ban guns because they know that if you criminalize guns, then only the criminals will have them.

But it appears that there are those here who prefer that only criminals have guns. In your country, convicted felons aren't allowed to own any gun. They can't even live in a home where there are guns belonging to someone else. Yet they have guns because they are criminals with no respect for laws.

I don't understand people who would arm only criminals, and leave the good people defenseless, but that is the truth in so many countries.

Edited December 13, 2012 by NeverSure

[mattjenson]

Swimming pools are by far more dangerous then guns, but don't let facts get in the way, New Zealand seems to have a good balance. Anyone can own firearms for hunting or just shooting tin cans, provided you don't have a criminal record. You have to keep fire arms locked up, and have a licence. The bib don't carry side arms. You can't buy hand guns. If you shoot someone in your home you'll walk if its clear its a break, enter and would be attack. I've always had firearms, but if it comes down to it i'll fight with a knife and ax any day. But if jimmy shows up with a shotgun i'll pee my pants.

Do your honest best and your always going to be better off being judged by 12 then carried by 6.

[connda]

Expats who are interested in self defense rather than just a sport day at the range need to know what laws Thailand has about lethal force such as under what circumstances it is and isn't allowed and if there are requirements about warnings and attempts to inflict non-lethal wounds first. These laws are difficult enough to navigate in the US, and it cannot be assumed that Thailand has the same standards. It would be a tragedy to save your family from a violent home invasion only to spend the rest of your life in prison for having done so.

It would also be a tragedy to have your family killed during a violent home invasion because you were unable (or worse, unwilling) to defend yourself. I don't know about you, but I'll 'spend the rest of your life in prison' or risk being killed in order to defend my home and family. What's the alternative? You and your family are bludgeoned, beat, knifed, or shot to death -- and you roll over and do nothing although you might have the capability of protecting them? Yes. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison to protect my family whether that's in the US, UK, EU, SEA, LOS, or wherever.

Honestly, what's the alternative? Are you telling me that it you'd prefer to have your wife and daughter raped and possibly killed, and you and your son macheted to death because -- you might be unjustly put into jail. Please. All of you who think this way -- get your priorities straight. Really. The legal system is FUBARed, I go to jail, but my family lives -- that's a 'no brainer'.

Edited December 14, 2012 by connda

[HAL9000]

Expats who are interested in self defense rather than just a sport day at the range need to know what laws Thailand has about lethal force such as under what circumstances it is and isn't allowed and if there are requirements about warnings and attempts to inflict non-lethal wounds first. These laws are difficult enough to navigate in the US, and it cannot be assumed that Thailand has the same standards. It would be a tragedy to save your family from a violent home invasion only to spend the rest of your life in prison for having done so.

It would also be a tragedy to have your family killed during a violent home invasion because you were unable (or worse, unwilling) to defend yourself. I don't know about you, but I'll 'spend the rest of your life in prison' or risk being killed in order to defend my home and family. What's the alternative? You and your family are bludgeoned, beat, knifed, or shot to death -- and you roll over and do nothing although you might have the capability of protecting them? Yes. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison to protect my family whether that's in the US, UK, EU, SEA, LOS, or wherever.

Honestly, what's the alternative? Are you telling me that it you'd prefer to have your wife and daughter raped and possibly killed, and you and your son macheted to death because -- you might be unjustly put into jail. Please. All of you who think this way -- get your priorities straight. Really. The legal system is FUBARed, I go to jail, but my family lives -- that's a 'no brainer'.

That's a pretty simplistic response. Not using a gun does not mean surrendering your family. Do you own a gun? Are you prepared to kill someone with it?

[connda]

Expats who are interested in self defense rather than just a sport day at the range need to know what laws Thailand has about lethal force such as under what circumstances it is and isn't allowed and if there are requirements about warnings and attempts to inflict non-lethal wounds first. These laws are difficult enough to navigate in the US, and it cannot be assumed that Thailand has the same standards. It would be a tragedy to save your family from a violent home invasion only to spend the rest of your life in prison for having done so.

It would also be a tragedy to have your family killed during a violent home invasion because you were unable (or worse, unwilling) to defend yourself. I don't know about you, but I'll 'spend the rest of your life in prison' or risk being killed in order to defend my home and family. What's the alternative? You and your family are bludgeoned, beat, knifed, or shot to death -- and you roll over and do nothing although you might have the capability of protecting them? Yes. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison to protect my family whether that's in the US, UK, EU, SEA, LOS, or wherever.

Honestly, what's the alternative? Are you telling me that it you'd prefer to have your wife and daughter raped and possibly killed, and you and your son macheted to death because -- you might be unjustly put into jail. Please. All of you who think this way -- get your priorities straight. Really. The legal system is FUBARed, I go to jail, but my family lives -- that's a 'no brainer'.

That's a pretty simplistic response. Not using a gun does not mean surrendering your family. Do you own a gun? Are you prepared to kill someone with it?

Yes and yes. Yes -- simplistic. Ex-military...I have no problems with it.

And you? You are a Thai visa member. You know this: Foreigners have been targeted and killed by Thais who think the 'rich farangs' are easy or profitable targets. And your game plan is.......??? You have family? What would you do? Call 911? Sorry -- no 911 here and the Thai equivalent will simply come and pick up your bodies.

Please. Give me an answer...give the forum an answer --- during a violent home invasion -- what are YOU going to do to protect your family?

Edited December 14, 2012 by connda