Easy guns bring Wild West mentality

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Easy guns bring Wild West mentality

With firearm crime on the rise and the amount of illegal locally produced and smuggled weapons growing, there are concerns that a programme giving officials discounts in the name of self-protection is worsening the situation

Published: 18 Nov 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Spectrum

In recent years Thailand has been flooded with illegal firearms and the misery they cause is plain for all to see. Every day there are media reports of shootouts and homicides that begin with domestic quarrels, school rivalries and traffic accidents, and quickly escalate. Law enforcement officials say the root cause is the easy availability of guns, and this is true for teenagers as well as adults. People prefer to buy weapons outside of legal channels because they are much cheaper, and don't involve the hassle of registering the guns as required under Thai law.

UP IN ARMS: A licensed gun shop in the Wang Burapha area. Critics say gun shops aligned with a state scheme to give discounts to officials are contributing to the flood of guns in the country.

The issuance of gun permits is linked to house registration. For criminals there is the added bonus that guns bought on the black market can't be traced back to them. Some illegal firearms are cheaply produced locally by fly-by-night manufacturers, but most are foreign-made, either smuggled in, stolen or resold without registration (see box, Page 5).

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rebel4ever
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Discussion 25 : 18 Nov 2012 at 14.5525
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Some weeks ago I read about bullet protective tattoos. I think I'll get one; don't need a gun then..
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geoffp
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Discussion 24 : 18 Nov 2012 at 14.4824
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Get rid of the supply of ammunition. Without it, guns simply become expensive clubs.

I'm sure the army doesn't expect their troops to buy their own bullets and no-one else except the police, should have any need for more than perhaps 5 or 10 rounds "for their personal protection." If they use up that allocation one might wonder if they have just too many enemies?

Seized weapons, whether "legally imported" or illegally made should be destroyed, as in converted to ploughshares - the authorities shouldn't even think about how to re-register, and re-sell them.
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topcat_bk
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Discussion 23 : 18 Nov 2012 at 13.5623
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In the case of Thailand, the pervasive presence of illegal firearms seems to me yet another symptom of the real problems of this society, rather than a primary cause of the violence. As long as corruption is widely accepted as normal and "no big deal" and the perceived loss of face in any given situation justifies almost any type of response, the violence will continue by whatever means available.
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Bangon
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Discussion 22 : 18 Nov 2012 at 13.1322
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Why is it always so that a piece about guns (in all newspapers) gets illustrated with pictures of legit' gunshops? Maybe 'not important' to give these registered and legal shops a bad image? Most of these run a totally clear and honest business, and are subject to so many controls you can't even imagine! Would it be because it's more easy, lack of imagination or lazyness of the paper's staff, or is it intentional?
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wakeup
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Discussion 21 : 18 Nov 2012 at 13.0221
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Gun violence is driven by the decay of society. It is easy to get guns in Thailand - in fact so easy, you'd think there'd be more gun violence but there isn't. Conversely, gun laws are very strict in Mexico and it is turning into a war zone. Get to the socioeconomic root of the problem, drain the swamps, and ensure those who wish to be armed, are so responsibly.
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Bangon
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Discussion 20 : 18 Nov 2012 at 12.5920
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Guns don't kill! It's the man/woman holding the gun that might kill you! Wanna prohibit cars, motorbikes, knives, gardening tools, metal pipes, woulden clubs, etc., too, cause more people are killed intentionally with those? What to do? 1) Hunt down (all of) the (too) many people using, carrying, holding illegal guns, and their providers, and punish them harshly. 2) Make sure the people having a license to hold a gun know how to handle and shoot it safely. 3) And, maybe, get a decent police force able, and willing, to protect the honest citizens, tough one that one!
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twodogs
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Discussion 19 : 18 Nov 2012 at 12.4719
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I think discussions like this need to be more often. I worry for my family in Thailand. (through marriage) I would bring them all here if I could, people don't live in fear here.
The problem is not just the governments problem, but every citizens problem in Thailand. Everyone needs to have a voice in this. I hope they will join together to solve the problem.
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twodogs
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Discussion 18 : 18 Nov 2012 at 12.1518
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Regardless of the regulations, criminals will still get their guns. Even if they make their own Zip gun. My concern is for the innocent victims. The right to defend yourself or your family is a natural need and right. When a nation denies the right to self protection is and will be in decline. So many Thai people I know want to live in peace and safety. Living with the fear of being killed by some arrogant self serving criminal or official is a terrible way to live. There has got to be a way to change the gang mentality and intimidation by people in positions of power.
Thiland needs a leader to change this but I fear that leader would suffer
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twodogs
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Discussion 17 : 18 Nov 2012 at 12.0317
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Pointofview....Gun crime cities? Try Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

The difference between there and here is "officials" get personal protection but not the citizen. I do notice that the average citizens are dying in the south. I don't know what the answer for Thailand is, but I can give comparisons. Where I live, Wyoming, nearly everyone has access to a weapon and very little gun crime. My wife from Bangkok finally got accustomed to seeing guns in the family homes.
I do see the problem with an offical putting a gun to a citizen's head. Here, he would not get away with it. There he does. The citizen looses again.
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pointoffew
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Discussion 16 : 18 Nov 2012 at 11.2316
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Interesting article, but the claim, in the very sentence, "With firearm crime on the rise" sounds sensational – but is not substantiated. Why not? Because gun abuse has been very high in Thailand since many years and there are no reliable statistics.
I personally know of at least a dozen cases where citizens were intimidated with guns, sometimes threatened with execution by putting the gun at their head. None of the victims, including wives of the perpetrators, dared to contact the police, because all those perpetrators had a licence and were government officials.
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