Guns Don't Kill People...

[Galong]

Well, after reading that two guys were shot and killed in Pattaya because they made too much noise when cheering for a soccer game I'm wondering - is it just me or are more people being shot these days over absolutely NOTHING? I mean come on, if I shot everyone who woke me up or who made so much noise that I couldn't hear myself think, I'd be committing mass murder! My neighborhood would be devoid of people!!

I'm actually wondering if I should try to get a handgun for self defense. I'm serious. I've been followed by a gang of motorbike punks recently. They followed me all the way home and stood outside my gate throwing beer bottles at me. There really wasn't anything keeping them from coming in, I'm just glad they didn't. What can I do against a gang of teenagers hel_l-bent on causing my bodily harm? Nothing really.

Question: is it possible to legally purchase a handgun? How about a shotgun so I can protect my family on my property?

Good thing I'm not a big fan of soccer... this could save my life.

[cooL_guY_corY]

gang of motorbike punks? where do you live?

soundslike you could use a tek-9 semiautomatic handgun with 20 shot clip

[Galong]

gang of motorbike punks? where do you live?

soundslike you could use a tek-9 semiautomatic handgun with 20 shot clip

I live on the edge of Phuket Town.

There's an article on the Phuket Gazette online about a gang of motorbike teens who are terrorizing motorists on the road between Kalim and Kamala. check out this page

The cops can't be everywhere at all times, so I would like to protect myself. I hope that's legal.

[Heng]

You'll need permanent residency first. Tourists can't buy guns legally here.

Edited June 14, 2006 by Heng

[saeb]

You'll need permanent residency first. Tourists can't buy guns legally here.

Actually foreigners cannot own a gun full stop - in Thai law the regulations regarding who can own a hand gun are dependant on a number of factors : One thing that I note amongst the supposed experts who fail to actually ask is that firemarms licences granted to an individual within Thailand are zoned.

i.e. your permit to carry a weapon is based upon specific geographical limits.

Land protection, safe guarding of premises, and the goodie - 'foreign intrusion'.

To the chappie who has a problem with a group of youths throwing beer bottles at him, could I be so insolent ask to why this happens and why to him?.

1. does this happen to any other person in the immediate locale?.

2. Has he tried talking to them?.

A Mac-10, Kalashnikov, M-16 or .45 ain't going to make you feel safer mate - buy a friendly dog with big teeth that knows where it gets fed.........welcome to Thailand.

[NovaBlue05]

You'll need permanent residency first. Tourists can't buy guns legally here.

But the Thai wife can....right?

[TRIPxCORE]

I own a handgun for protection too because there are a lot of crazy people in the world and you just never know. All the bad things you hear about in the news and nobody think it can happen to them. Well it can. It's better to be prepared. It's true, guns do not kill people. People kill people.

I do not live in Thailand though so I don't know about the laws.

[NovaBlue05]

gang of motorbike punks? where do you live?

soundslike you could use a tek-9 semiautomatic handgun with 20 shot clip

The cops can't be everywhere at all times, so I would like to protect myself. I hope that's legal.

The cops primary job isn't to stop crime. It is the rare occasion indeed when they are actually in a position to stop a crime. Their primary purpose is cleaning up the aftermath and filling out reports. I realize that has to be done too but, if you're the victim, that's little consolation. Your protection is always going to be your responsibility. Handle it in whatever responsible manner you see fit.

[jackr]

Well, after reading that two guys were shot and killed in Pattaya because they made too much noise when cheering for a soccer game I'm wondering - is it just me or are more people being shot these days over absolutely NOTHING? I mean come on, if I shot everyone who woke me up or who made so much noise that I couldn't hear myself think, I'd be committing mass murder! My neighborhood would be devoid of people!!

I'm actually wondering if I should try to get a handgun for self defense. I'm serious. I've been followed by a gang of motorbike punks recently. They followed me all the way home and stood outside my gate throwing beer bottles at me. There really wasn't anything keeping them from coming in, I'm just glad they didn't. What can I do against a gang of teenagers hel_l-bent on causing my bodily harm? Nothing really.

Question: is it possible to legally purchase a handgun? How about a shotgun so I can protect my family on my property?

Good thing I'm not a big fan of soccer... this could save my life.

Have a search for the thread 'Farangs with Guns'; a lot of it was covered there. Be prepared for the dogooder element.

[chanchao]

> But the Thai wife can....right?

Yeah, that would make me feel loads safer...

[Jai Dee]

I've seen a Thai pull a gun on a Korean on a golf course...

Very jai yen too...

Not a word was spoken... but the message was clearly understood.

I must admit though... the Korean was in the wrong.

[Thaising]

Are we in the wild wild west here, where we really need a gun to protect ourselves? If there are troubles ahead, go with your instinct instead of direct head-on.

[Heng]

You'll need permanent residency first. Tourists can't buy guns legally here.

Actually foreigners cannot own a gun full stop -

Actually I know more than a few foreigners with their por 4 gun registrations in their own name.

[Tywais]

I've seen a Thai pull a gun on a Korean on a golf course...

Very jai yen too...

Not a word was spoken... but the message was clearly understood.

I must admit though... the Korean was in the wrong.

Have to be careful asking for a Mulligan.

[thedude]

I've seen a Thai pull a gun on a Korean on a golf course...

Very jai yen too...

Not a word was spoken... but the message was clearly understood.

I must admit though... the Korean was in the wrong.

i wonder if khon kowlee managed to make par after that.

[thedude]

gang of motorbike punks? where do you live?

soundslike you could use a tek-9 semiautomatic handgun with 20 shot clip

The cops can't be everywhere at all times, so I would like to protect myself. I hope that's legal.

The cops primary job isn't to stop crime. It is the rare occasion indeed when they are actually in a position to stop a crime. Their primary purpose is cleaning up the aftermath and filling out reports. I realize that has to be done too but, if you're the victim, that's little consolation. Your protection is always going to be your responsibility. Handle it in whatever responsible manner you see fit.

well observed. in fact i'd go so far as to say that because law is so rarely seen to be enforced in this country, most people eventually learn that they can do anything so long as they have sufficient funds to pay for it. of course, the more objectionable the offence, the more spare change you need. i was recently intercepted by an angry policeman on making a wrong turn, polite apologies and 200 baht later, he saluted and waied me, and stopped traffic to let me through. i always tell my visitors and thailand newbies that they need a paradigm shift in order to get by happily here. rule number one, there is no justice in this land, so don't get pissed off expecting any to be done. lay low, don't cause any trouble, and if trouble finds you, pay someone to get it fixed. never be seen as the aggressor, having to use your own gun is really quite stupid.

Edited June 15, 2006 by thedude

[ColPyat]

Question: is it possible to legally purchase a handgun? How about a shotgun so I can protect my family on my property?

There are better ways to protect yourself. If you use a gun, legally owned or not, on people who threaten you, then you are in for big trouble. If the law finds that you over reacted - you are in jail, and most likely longer than your opponents. And if the law exonerates you, than you still have to deal with the 'puac', and/or the family of your opponents.

Even though many here do not believe that those sort of gangs you encountered are actually existing in Thailand, incidents such as this are all too common here, and police can do very little about it. What you have to do is: MAKE FRIENDS!

If you have friends here, and this is known, people will be very hesitant to play those games with you.

Recently, some unsavoury youth in my neighborhood appereantly had a slight problem with me the farang. Before he could even say something, his friends pulled him straight back, telling him this farang here is part of *...*, which solved the problem without any lost face, or even a hint of violence.

If you have friends, you don't need a gun.

[Jai Dee]

If you have high-level or important friends, you don't need a gun.

Amended to reflect a more accurate picture.

[jbowman1993]

You don't need a gun. Go to the states and bring youself back a couple aluminum baseball bats. Nothing puts the fear of God into a Thai dog like me with my 36 inch louisville slugger. I'm sure burglers would be the same.

[ColPyat]

If you have high-level or important friends, you don't need a gun.

Amended to reflect a more accurate picture.

Not necessarily. Personally - i am very wary of high level "friends". They'll never be real friends unless you can play on their level, and their "friendship" might come at a cost that could be a bit too high.

In such a street level confrontation - the right street level friends can be far more useful and effective.

Obviously they will be out of their depth when the conflict involves a confrontation above streetlevel. But this is anyhow to be avoided...

[jdinasia]

[sriracha john]

Amended to reflect a more accurate picture.

That seems to be an often-repeated response to some people's posts...

[thankuverybig]

those 2 prong,electrical zappers look quite fun.

theyre about the size of a mobile phone.ive heard theyre quite cheap.

dangerous enough,but not enough for the victim to be seriously hurt,or you facing trial or jailed.

i keep dreaming of a motorcycle trip,heading knowhere,& id consider one.

[chuchok]

I own a handgun for protection too because there are a lot of crazy people in the world and you just never know. All the bad things you hear about in the news and nobody think it can happen to them. Well it can. It's better to be prepared. It's true, guns do not kill people. People kill people.

I do not live in Thailand though so I don't know about the laws.

So a gun will just fire itself 4 times into a victim? Spontaneous discharge?

[Sing_Sling]

I own a handgun for protection too because there are a lot of crazy people in the world and you just never know. All the bad things you hear about in the news and nobody think it can happen to them. Well it can. It's better to be prepared. It's true, guns do not kill people. People kill people.

I do not live in Thailand though so I don't know about the laws.

So a gun will just fire itself 4 times into a victim? Spontaneous discharge?

Kind of like immaculate conception

[NovaBlue05]

> But the Thai wife can....right?

Yeah, that would make me feel loads safer...

Don't be silly. I'm talking about buying....not shooting.

[a2396]

Anyone have any credible idea of how many Thais actually own registered legal handguns?? Can carry permits be obtained by average Thais? I think it is quite "beyond the range" for a Farang to even think about owning a gun in Thailand. If you don't feel safe where you are living, I would move to a better neighorhood or residential area with some security in place.

[Galong]

Thanks for all of the advice... most of it very good.

A. I have very high-level friends in Phuket (where I live) and one of them got a motorbike accident bill down from over 25,000 Baht to under 4,000 Bht. A guy ran into me and, of course, I was told to pay by the cops. Well, to make a long story short, the bike guy and the mechanic basically thought they were going to get me to buy the guy a new bike... ha! try again. You should have seen their faces when my buddy came in... priceless.

B. Jail is better than death. If I've got a street gang on my booty, I've got to do whatever keeps the blood inside my body.

C. "electrical zappers", yep, gonna get one to keep beside my Louisville Slugger. :-)

D. I've got five dogs. I don't want to put their lives in jeopardy unless absolutely unavoidable. What would most likely happen is the bad guys would come back and poison them anyway.

Times seem to be changing and not in a good direction. I don't remember ever hearing about Thais pulling guns on anyone Thai or foreign a decade ago. Thai TV is promoting gun violence just like American TV does. Perhaps this has something to do with it. I don't know. All I know is I don't want to be a victim of a gang. I need some sort of self-defence.

Peace (I hope)

[ColPyat]

[ColPyat]

Amended to reflect a more accurate picture.

That seems to be an often-repeated response to some people's posts...