NationThailand-Aug 11
Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million civilian-held firearms, with over 6.2 million legally registered and more than 4 million believed to be unregistered. Recent shootings have intensified scrutiny of the country’s complex firearm laws, which issue separate licenses for purchasing, possessing, and carrying a weapon in public. Past relaxations of “welfare firearm” programs are cited as a key reason for the high number of legal guns, as they allowed weapons to be resold to the general public after a five-year period. In response to recent violence, the government has suspended the issuance of new public-carry permits for one year and is proposing tighter restrictions on firearm purchases. Thailand allows eligible civilians to apply for firearm ownership, but its licensing system draws clear legal distinctions between buying a gun, possessing and using it, and carrying it in public. Those distinctions have returned to the center of public debate following two shootings in Nonthaburi within days of each other: an attack involving a student at a school on August 7 and a separate shooting involving a former MP and the head of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization on August 10. The incidents have intensified scrutiny not only of who may legally acquire a firearm, but also of how Thailand manages millions of weapons already held in homes, monitors license holders and tackles a large pool of unregistered guns. Under Thailand’s firearm licensing framework, permission to purchase, possess and carry a gun is divided among separate licenses. A P.3 license authorizes the purchase of a firearm, while a P.4 license covers possession and use. A P.12 permit relates separately to carrying a firearm. A person who legally acquires and possesses a gun under the first two categories does not automatically have the right to carry it freely in public. Legal ownership and legal carrying are treated as separate matters. Read more at:
