Following a shooting event last week in which a 14-year-old killed himself and eight others, Thailand’s government will immediately cease granting gun permits.
It is already illegal for current gun owners to carry their firearms in public.
With 10.3 million weapons in civilian control, the South East Asian nation has one of the worst rates of gun crime in the area.
Thailand Announces Tougher Gun Control Laws After School Shooting
The prime minister has pledged to enact strict new gun control legislation with harsh penalties in reaction to the horrific massacre, suspending new permits in the interim.
According to officials, a boy at Debsirin Nonthaburi School outside of Bangkok opened fire on teachers and children after shooting his grandparents with a firearm that belonged to his grandfather last Friday.
Five school employes, one 12-year-old daughter, and both grandparents perished.
The shooter may have learned how to handle a gun on social internet, according to police.
What Led to the Thailand School Shooting?
They claim that there is proof the youngster watched violent videos on the internet and that he shown a keen interest in learning how to handle firearms.
They suggest that his actions may have been motivated by his intake of this information as well as his concern over his schoolwork and family matters.
AFP Uniformed attendees stand on each side of a stairway as mourners assemble beside a crematorium adorned with white flower arrangements.
Two authorities are standing next to white coffins at the top of the steps.
On Tuesday, officials honored the victims at a Nonthaburi No new permits to buy or possess firearms will be granted until further notice. It is unknown what will happen to current gun ownership permits, but existing purchase permits will not be renewed.
Thailand Plans Stricter Rules on Gun Ownership
In late 2023, gun permits were suspended; owners are now required to keep their firearms at home or at a shooting range.
In the aftermath of the school massacre, the government is also thinking about ways to get the owners of an estimated four million unregistered firearms to surrender them.
The stated restrictions, according to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, would stay in effect as the government attempts to enact new gun control legislation with more stringent regulations and even heavier punishments.
Advocates for gun control have demanded that mental health evaluations be included in the permit application process and that permits be reviewed on a regular basis.
The education minister has suggested screening at the door, and Anutin has stated that tighter ammunition limits are in his sights.
