Earlier this month, the Interior Ministry submitted a draft of an amnesty decree to the cabinet that would see individuals in possession of illegal firearms cleared of all charges if they turn in their weapons to authorities within 120 days of the decree taking effect.
While the idea has been touted as a practical solution to the nation's gun problem, the policy is based on the wrong assumption.
Thailand's gun violence crisis is not solely caused by illegal firearms but also by legal firearms. While it isn't cheap to acquire a gun legally in Thailand due to its import quotas, there are no rules which limit the number of guns an individual can own -- a person can buy as many guns as he or she wishes as long as they can afford the price.
This wasn't the first time an amnesty for illegal firearms owners was considered -- this is the eighth attempt to pass a push in six decades. In fact, amnesty was granted to several people in the wake of the shooting spree at a nursery in Nong Bua Lam Phu in Oct 2022.
Unsurprisingly, the number of gun-related violence cases has spiked over the past four to five years.
According to police figures, there were 48,663 cases of gun-related violence in 2020, 48,701 cases in 2021 and 96,204 cases in 2022.
In 2020 alone, 1,612 people died from gun-related violence.
One aspect that is rarely mentioned in media reports is the prevalence of gun ownership. According to World Population Review 2024, an estimated 10.3 million guns are in the hands of Thai civilians. With about 15% of the country's 66 million people having firearms, Thailand is the number one country in the Asean region and 20th in the world for the highest rates of gun ownership.
The procedure to purchase a gun in Thailand is daunting -- it usually takes several months as a buyer needs to have his/her financial background and criminal record checked before he or she can obtain a licence to buy a gun, Por 3, from their local authorities.
In reality, however, one can pay the gun shop owner to do all the paperwork without ever having to physically visit their local district office or the Provincial Administration Department to apply for a Por 3 licence and the license to own a gun, Por 4.
There are no rules which require a prospective gun owner to have basic gun safety training or mandatory periodic psychological and background checks to ensure gun owners are still fit to carry weapons.
Following the shooting spree by a soldier in Nakhon Ratchasima in early 2020, there were about mandating psychological assessments as part of the gun licence application process to prevent lethal weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
To date, however, no workable framework has materialised.
A gun licence, like a driving licence, should not be permanent. Owners should be subject to psychological assessments after a certain period, such as 5-10 years, to determine they are still mentally fit to own the guns.
Above all, the scheme which allows military personnel, police, local administration officials and state enterprise employees to obtain handguns at much cheaper prices should be scrapped to prevent an individual from owning more than one gun.
If the Interior Ministry is really serious about reducing gun-related violence, it should, first and foremost, rethink its role in the scheme.
By issuing an amnesty decree, it is barking up the wrong tree.