The Interior Ministry's new gun control policy may induce a sense of relief among the public -- and at least the government is doing something to rein in the increasingly ominous spate of gun violence.
Those who hope to see fundamental change will feel let down, nevertheless. The new gun control rules prescribed by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday are half-baked, if not barking up the wrong tree entirely.
The new rules to be adopted nationwide will ban the issuance of permits to carry guns, as well as imports of guns that fire blanks and imitation guns.
The Interior Ministry is also imposing temporary bans on gun shops from importing firearms and ammunition. In short, these rules reflect the government's strategy that aims to reduce the number of guns in civilian hands.
Exemptions will be given to shooting sports associations that have registered under the government-run Sports Authority of Thailand as well as to current holders of permit papers.
To have their licence renewed, these holders must show they have complied with the law and are mentally fit to carry firearms.
While these measures appear drastic, a big question remains. Are these gun control measures sufficient to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands?
Make no mistake, the ban on blank guns will remove a substantial number of weapons from the market, which is welcome as many of these have been modified into lethal firearms.
Other bans on civilian guns are misguided. Lest we forget, more than 70% of gun-related violence involves illegal guns. It would be naive to think enforcers will bother to apply for gun permits.
There are plenty of firearms for these enforcers to find -- smuggled arms from neighbouring countries, so-called "Thai Pradit" guns or homemade firearms created by local gun makers, and modified guns. Another source of guns in the local market that the Interior Ministry rarely mentions is those that come from the government's welfare scheme.
Lest we forget, the welfare gun scheme is supervised by the ministry, making it the largest gun importer in the country.
For 14 years, guns have flooded into the country as a result of the government's welfare gun policy that permits officials to buy tax-free firearms without any limit. Needless to say, there have been reports of officials making money reselling these. The abuse of this policy is so extreme that the Royal Thai Police have suspended numerous officers since last year.
Despite there being a rule preventing the transferral of such weapons for a five-year period, cheating officials abuse the system by declaring their guns lost or stolen before selling them on the black market. Many are used in crimes.
The big question is why Interior Minister Anutin retains this problematic gun welfare scheme in the face of growing calls for the programme to be scrapped.
Indeed, the first thing Mr Anutin should do is axe this scheme as there is no reason to keep it alive. Instead of having officers dig into their pockets to buy their own firearms via the scheme, the government should purchase updated weapons for officials and policemen so they can carry out their duty and have them returned when they retire.
So long as this policy lives on, any attempt to regulate guns will be undone.