Thailand PM pledges new firearms law after deadly shooting near Bangkok
Thailand’s prime minister said a proposed law would restrict public firearm carrying after a shooting outside Bangkok killed at least eight people.
Bangkok, Thailand. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that he would propose a new firearms control law after a shooting rampage outside Bangkok left at least eight people dead.
The proposed legislation would restrict the carrying of firearms by the public, though Anutin did not provide details on whether it would tighten gun ownership requirements.
Proposed restrictions
“The new law will only allow government officials on duty to carry guns,” Anutin told reporters.
Thailand issues separate licences for firearm ownership and for carrying firearms.
Shooting outside Bangkok
In Friday’s incident, a Thai teenager fatally shot his grandparents before killing at least five other people and himself at a school outside Bangkok.
Firearm ownership
Thailand had an estimated 10.3 million firearms in civilian possession, or about 15 guns per 100 residents, according to a 2017 estimate by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.
More than 6 million of the weapons were registered, while about 4 million were unregistered, the group estimated.
Previous measures
Thailand has experienced mass shootings at schools, a major Bangkok shopping mall and elsewhere. A 2022 killing spree in the country’s northeast killed 36 people, including 22 children.
After an October 2023 shooting at a Bangkok mall, Anutin, then interior minister, ordered measures including a temporary ban on new licences, import restrictions and a ban on people under 20 using shooting ranges.
Longer-term proposals included medical certificates assessing gun owners’ mental health and psychological condition, as well as specified validity periods for some gun licences.
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