A 10-minute walk from Bangkok’s Chinatown and the
Grand Palace is a 300-metre-long road that, like many others in the
city, is lined with one store after another selling similar products.
But Burapha Road is unlike other streets in the Thai capital because
it is the largest legal gun market in the country, with nearly 100
stores openly displaying firearms in their windows under signs
clearly reading “gun” in Thai.
Thailand’s high rate of gun-related deaths is at odds with the
Buddhist-majority country’s promotion of itself as a beautiful
kingdom with loving and smiling people to welcome tourists.
The country has the highest reported rate of gun-related deaths in
the Asia-Pacific region and, along with the Philippines, has higher
levels of gun violence than the United States.
There were 7.48 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2013, according to
the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, more than a third
higher than the Philippines and more than twice as high as the US.
These statistics contradict the country’s popular image and its
strict gun laws, which require that buyers obtain a permit, meet job
and income requirements and pass criminal background and mental
illness history checks.
Gun owners in principle need an additional permit for concealed
carry, and open carry is prohibited in Thailand.
The gun market is strictly controlled, with quotas and hefty taxes on
gun imports and bans on military-grade or fully automatic weapons.
Only firearms with .45 calibre or less can be sold to civilians.
One of the reasons for such contradictions, said security analyst
Anthony Davis, may lie in Thailand counting gun deaths from the
ongoing insurgency in the southern border provinces as part of the
country’s gun crime statistics rather than as deaths from war.
However, even if the death toll of 574 – from all causes not limited
to guns – from the deep south in 2013 were subtracted from the
country’s total gun deaths, Thailand would still have a rate of 6.62
deaths per 100,000 people, the highest in the region.
Thailand has high gun ownership rates for both licit and illicit
guns, Davis said.
“Thais are not trigger-happy and they usually avoid confrontation,”
the Bangkok-based analyst said. “But because there are plenty of guns
here, when they snap, it can get violent.”
Several studies have indicated a correlation between the rates of gun
ownership and gun-related deaths.
Many gun owners said that although Thailand’s laws are strict, it is
not difficult to legally obtain a gun, provided that one meets the
requirements. But it appears the majority of guns in the country are
obtained illegally.
There are estimated to be around 3.8 million licensed guns and 6
million illegal guns in Thailand, said Small Arms Survey, close to
the Gunpolicy.org estimate of 10 million privately owned guns.
This means there are 15.6 firearms per 100 people, the highest gun
ownership rate among Asian countries, excluding Middle East states.
“Strict gun laws do little in curbing gun violence because people who
intend to do bad things will get guns illegally,” said Thititorn
Bupparamanee, a gun store manager.
“Very few deaths reported were caused by legal guns,” said Thititorn,
who is also president of a local firearms traders association.
The Interior Ministry supported this claim, saying most guns used to
commit a crime were not registered and were obtained illegally.
Common incidents involving guns include personal feuds, business
disputes, gang fights and armed robberies, mostly among locals.
Guns were by far the most common weapon used to kill – three times
more common than sharp objects, the second most common weapon.
According to the World Health Organization, 66 per cent of homicides
in Thailand were committed with firearms.
Every two hours in Thailand at least one person dies in a gun-related
homicide, suicide or accident.
On Burapha Road, a Thai couple casually inquired with a shopkeeper in
front of the store about a gun their friend recommended, while their
young son looked curiously through the shop window. The boy pointed
at a handgun and said to his mom: “This one looks really cool.”
South Africa Today – World News – Thailand
