Anutin’s tough new policy will not allow public to own even BB guns

The deputy premier on Thursday presided over a meeting to review the laws governing gun ownership in Thailand, following the deadly shooting in Bangkok on Tuesday that took the lives of two foreigners and left five others injured.

Several senior officials, including the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration Attasit Samphanrat, attended the meeting.

Anutin, who is also the Interior Minister, said that he had decided to entrust Attasit with looking into the rules on the use of firearms and other weapons and reporting back to him to determine which ones needed to be revised.

He said he would not allow ordinary people to get a permit to own a firearm, not even imitation ones like BB guns or blank guns, as they were dangerous and needed to be regulated,

“Only officials would be permitted [to possess firearms],” he said.

The 14-year-old shooter reportedly used a modified blank pistol. Police investigation revealed that the teen also owned other types of weapons, like an M-16 gun and ammo.

Anutin noted that anyone under the age of 18 should not be allowed to participate in shooting activities.

Anyone using a gun at a shooting camp would have to leave the gun there. No one would be allowed to carry weapons outside the camp, he said.

According to a 2017 report by the Swiss Small Arms Survey, Thailand has the most number of weapons in Asean, numbering over 10.3 million. Four million of them are illegal.

After a meeting, the Ministry of Interior launched eight short-term measures to control gun use:

1. Firearm registration officials have been ordered to halt issuing licences for the import and trade of all types of imitation firearms and real firearms. No new applicants will be granted a licence.

2. Owners of real firearms and imitation ones have to register at firearms registration offices.

3. The Customs Department is urged to be stricter while monitoring the import of firearms and imitation weapons.

4. The Sports Authority of Thailand has been told to forbid anybody under the age of 20 from attending a shooting camp, except athletes. The firearm used at a camp has to be licensed and belong to its owner. No ammunition can be taken outside the camp.

5. Provincial governors and the police chief will not permit individuals to carry guns in public anymore.

6. Government officials are allowed to possess only one firearm per person. If the owner of a gun passes away, the gun will pass on to his/her heirs.

7. Firearm registration officials are required to cease granting permission to import firearms to gun stores, which rules out the opening of new gun stores.

8. The Ministry of Interior would collaborate with the Royal Thai Police and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to crack down on illegal online selling of guns. The evaluation of the progress will take place every 15 days.