Thailand suspends firearm permits after school shooting
BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday suspended the issuance of permits to buy firearms and said existing licenses would be reviewed, days after a 14-year-old gunman killed nine people, reports BritPanorama.
Anutin directed a deputy prime minister overseeing legal affairs to expedite a new gun control law, incorporating stronger controls and significantly harsher penalties.
Police were also ordered to stop renewing permits that enable people to buy firearms. Registered firearms must be kept at home and cannot be carried in public, Anutin confirmed, reiterating the current law.
For illegal firearms, studies are underway to enact legislation requiring their return to the state within a specified period, he added. Last week, a teenage student killed six people and himself at a school outside Bangkok after fatally shooting his grandparents, marking the Southeast Asian nation’s worst mass killing in nearly four years.
Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million firearms in civilian possession, equating to around 15 guns per 100 residents, the highest rate in the region by a significant margin, according to a 2017 estimate by the Small Arms Survey.
The education minister proposed new school safety measures to the cabinet, including screening everyone who enters educational premises for illegal objects and weapons.
