Should Thailand have tighter gun control laws?

[Scott]

It was recently reported that Thailand has a very high death rate due to gun violence. In your opinion, do you believe that Thailand needs to have tighter gun control laws?

Please feel free to leave a comment concerning gun violence in Thailand.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/895367-baffling-statistics-fail-to-hide-thailands-worrying-gun-crime-problem/

[beachproperty]

What good would tighter gun control be without enforcement.....which is a joke in Thailand

[Rayk]

Does Thailand have any gun control?

[uksomchai]

The Uk has some very serious gun laws that prohibit ownership of most guns and yet it doesn't stop people from being shot. It just means that only the bad guys and some of the police now have guns. Banning them doesn't work.

[Jools]

I'm having to assume (perhaps wrongly) that most of the gun violence is between rival criminal factions rather than being the kind of "free for all" you see in the USA. I was very surprised to read this report on gun violence in Thailand.

[Misterwhisper]

Another useless "survey".

Thailand already DOES have rather strict gun control laws. The problem is firstly that these laws are not properly enforced (no surprise here), and secondly that the vast, vast majority of guns are not registered and have been acquired illegally (often by greasing a corrupt police or army officer's palms).

It really is a very dangerous situation, especially when we consider that the owners often have very short fuses, lose face at the slightest perceived or real provocation, and generally have the intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds.

[hugocnx]

Another useless "survey".

Thailand already DOES have rather strict gun control laws. The problem is firstly that these laws are not properly enforced (no surprise here), and secondly that the vast, vast majority of guns are not registered and have been acquired illegally (often by greasing a corrupt police or army officer's palms).

It really is a very dangerous situation, especially when we consider that the owners often have very short fuses, lose face at the slightest perceived or real provocation, and generally have the intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds.

++ Spot on. Impossible to bring gun violence down by just outlaw guns.

Amendment 2 of American constitution is now under scruteny by Obama. That won't help a bit.

Guns are always available throughout this planet and would you give up your gun? Yes to a cute girl of course.

The anti gun lobby only suits the governments as they don't like civilians to have guns once they ought to be FEMA'ed.

We all read about the passport raids in Thailand. Better watch out, there is more control to come.

[Reigntax]

Unfortunately in Thailand, a big gun compensates for the shortfall in brain capacity and the man package department.

[PaullyW]

As with so many other things in Thailand, more or different laws carry little meaning.

Thailand has all kinds of laws, mostly copies verbatim from Western statues. Yet, the country by and large can be considered to be fairly lawless.

Laws are enforced irregularly at best. At worst, laws are used primarily as weapons against opposition or against the weak. We rarely if ever see laws enforced against the powerful.

Thailand is a feudal, fully undeveloped country with a modern veneer thinly painted on the surface.

Laws are almost entirely meaningless here.

[leeneeds]

lawless

senseless

gunless

= C

[JeremyBowskill]

The Uk has some very serious gun laws that prohibit ownership of most guns and yet it doesn't stop people from being shot. It just means that only the bad guys and some of the police now have guns. Banning them doesn't work.

Yet if you compare death rates from shootings between here and the UK, you may revise that opinion..............

Edited February 20, 2016 by JeremyBowskill

[Crossy]

Tongue in cheek maybe, and pertaining to the US, but this is (at least to us looking in from outside) very close to the truth. Not sure of the original source, it popped up on FaceBore:-

UK somehow manages fifth successive year with no mass shootings.

A country with strict gun control laws has somehow managed to go the entirety of 2015 with no mass shootings.

The achievement, widely agreed to be impossible by self-proclaimed firearm experts on the Internet, is being met with surprise and outright disbelief in the United States.

Experts in Gunology, which includes anyone with an Internet connection and a short temper, insist that the only way to avoid regular massacres is for everyone to be armed and decry anyone who thinks differently as "fukcin stupid basterds I shoud waist yer gay ass", whatever that may mean.

Internet experts often cite studies drawn from the voices in their heads which suggest that people being unarmed increases their chances of being shot by, oooh, a million-billion percenticles or something.

Sadly, they then go on to ignore that people being armed increases their chances of being shot by their own children by a similar amount.

Responding to the news, President Obama took a sombre tone.
“My fellow Americans”, he said. “It has long been known that if you take guns off good guys, only bad guys have guns.”
“Well, it seems the UK has waaaay fewer bad guys than we do.”
“I guess they’re just better people than us.”

American scientists are stunned by the lack of massacres, and have announced a US$17-billion, ten-year study into how nobody went on a shooting rampage in a place where nobody has any guns.

However, the NRA has pledged to lobby against the study being funded, insisting it is entirely unnecessary and a complete waste of time and money.

“There are regular massacres in the UK”, spokesman Simon-Bob Williams told us. “You just don’t get to hear of them because of the New World Order Zionist ZOG Media hiding the truth.”

“Wake up, sheeple!”, he added.

.

[Nigeone]

I would be seriously worried about where the all the guns that the police currently carry when there new Sig guns arrive and are dished out...I believe usually a policeman buys his own gun and then hands it down...in this case the black market is going to be a big source of disposal for the new ones and the old ones !!

Edited February 20, 2016 by Nigeone

[chainarong]

It is not a question of gun control it is a question who actually needs one , the bank person , the check out chick, the accountant , bus driver the list is endless of persons that don't need one , why would someone living in the Din Dang area want one , mind U OZ has gun laws , you take away one avenue another pops up , there is a lot of murders now done by knife, guns , so why would I need one living in Kalasin , I don't..............................

[chainarong]

I would be seriously worried about where the all the guns that the police currently carry when there new Sig guns arrive and are dished out...I believe usually a policeman buys his own gun and then hands it down...in this case the black market is going to be a big source of disposal for the new ones and the old ones !!

In this case the control of the gun is lax , the police department should own the gun not the officer, in a country where low wages rule you will always get opportunists., don't blame them , blame their system.

[NongKhaiKid]

More or tighter laws to be ignored in accordance with the usual lack of enforcement for so many issues.

Gun crime and illegal possession is rife yet doesn't seem to be causing any concern or be regarded as any sort of priority and tighter laws aren't going to change that,.

[smutcakes]

The Uk has some very serious gun laws that prohibit ownership of most guns and yet it doesn't stop people from being shot. It just means that only the bad guys and some of the police now have guns. Banning them doesn't work.

I think the UK has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the whole world, so it seems to be having a decent affect when put in comparison to countries without strict laws like the US.

[casindonet]

Every country in the world should.....and it should also include enforcement

[ozyjon]

Silly statement to start with,

matches start fire = ban matches

[tomyumchai]

Another useless "survey".

Thailand already DOES have rather strict gun control laws. The problem is firstly that these laws are not properly enforced (no surprise here), and secondly that the vast, vast majority of guns are not registered and have been acquired illegally (often by greasing a corrupt police or army officer's palms).

It really is a very dangerous situation, especially when we consider that the owners often have very short fuses, lose face at the slightest perceived or real provocation, and generally have the intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds.

completely nailed it right there, no need to read further.

[NoshowJones]

As with so many other things in Thailand, more or different laws carry little meaning.

Thailand has all kinds of laws, mostly copies verbatim from Western statues. Yet, the country by and large can be considered to be fairly lawless.

Laws are enforced irregularly at best. At worst, laws are used primarily as weapons against opposition or against the weak. We rarely if ever see laws enforced against the powerful.

Thailand is a feudal, fully undeveloped country with a modern veneer thinly painted on the surface.

Laws are almost entirely meaningless here.

Laws are only enforced here when certain pockets start bulging.

[Scott]

The topic isn't about mass shootings and it's not about the UK or the US. It's about Thailand. Comparisons are OK, but they need to made in the context of the current situation in Thailand, including enforcement of laws.

Do you think the people that live in the Southern Border provinces should be deprived of the guns to protect themselves?

[Scott]

The topic isn't about mass shootings and it's not about the UK or the US. It's about Thailand. Comparisons are OK, but they need to made in the context of the current situation in Thailand, including enforcement of laws.

For those who think it's another 'useless' survey, please feel free not to comment. It's not mandatory. Really, you are not under any obligation.

Do you think the people that live in the Southern Border provinces should be deprived of the guns to protect themselves?

[tigermoth]

I can not vote on this because the question is not sensible. If I knew all the gun control laws maybe I could. There are too many oddities in the laws here to vote. Enforcement of any law here is minimal. (Except for bridge players). The police are required to purchase their own weapons, ridiculous. What happens when they sell the old ones. Do they have to return to the Department, for a cost of course. If not who supervises the disposal of the old ones. The black market obviously operates in this regard therefore illustrating an illegal activity that is condoned by the police department. (Must be large paybacks there). So it goes on. As in most laws in this country there are anomolies and a lack of enforcement.

[smutcakes]

The topic isn't about mass shootings and it's not about the UK or the US. It's about Thailand. Comparisons are OK, but they need to made in the context of the current situation in Thailand, including enforcement of laws.

For those who think it's another 'useless' survey, please feel free not to comment. It's not mandatory. Really, you are not under any obligation.

Do you think the people that live in the Southern Border provinces should be deprived of the guns to protect themselves?

Yes, because the chances of ever needing the gun, or being able to use it productively in a 'situation' are far more unlikely than innocent people being shot by wacked out weirdos and have a go heros running around thinking they are Delta Force.

Is there any stat out there indicating how many crimes have been deterred, prevented or gun crimes neutralized by armed citizens? I presume this is an extremely difficult thing to measure.

What we do know is that places like the UK have strict gun control laws, low gun ownership and subsequently one of the lowest gun crime rates in the world........ I dont see how having more firearms in circulation can possibly be a good thing.

[MRH1959]

Tighter and 'enforced'laws, although what will it imorove when you can buy other weapons on most streets such as from army surplus, knife shop, hobby shops etc.

Enforce the laws with tougher penalties.

[bazza40]

Silly statement to start with,

matches start fire = ban matches

Riiiight. People get electrocuted, so we should shut down the generators. People get killed on scooters, ban two-wheeled vehicles.

Handguns are designed for one purpose only - to kill people. They are not designed for hunting or any other activity.

Where do you park your brain when you start typing?

[joebrown]

Silly statement to start with,

matches start fire = ban matches

Which statement are you giving your 'silly' opinion on?

The OP is talking about gun crime/control not about arson!

Edited February 21, 2016 by joebrown

[scorecard]

IMHO the usual NRA comments like 'it's not the gun, it's the person' etc.,is an insult to the intelligence of all human beings.

If the shooter had no access to guns then gun deaths would obviously be reduced.

It's not rocket science.

[connda]

How many people answering this poll understand the processes and restrictions that are placed on individuals applying for gun ownership. My guess is less than 5% (probably less than 1%).