Another Chance to Rally Support for Global Gun Regulation
America has a gun violence problem unparalleled by any other developed country. The United States is home to 42% of the world’s guns and 31% of the gunmen involved in mass shootings.[1]
Few countries make headlines as often as the United States does, but one recent exception is Thailand. Several weeks ago, Thailand experienced its first mass shooting in modern history.[2] The shooting, which took place at a daycare, resulted in the death of at least 38 people, many of them children.[3]
Thailand, like the United States, is home to millions of guns. There are about 10 million privately owned guns in Thailand, which is one of the highest rates of private gun ownership in Southeast Asia.[4] It is estimated that only about six million are legally registered.[5] Thailand also has one of the highest gun homicide rates in Southeast Asia.[6]
Despite widespread gun ownership, Thailand has strict gun control laws and imposes heavy penalties on those caught carrying firearms.[7] Those caught carrying unregistered guns face ten years in prison as well as fines up to $535 USD.[8] Firearms may be purchased from a limited number of licensed firearms dealers who are restricted in the number of firearms and ammunition they can sell each year.[9] There are also age restrictions on firearms purchasers. All purchasers must be at least 20 years old and can only purchase a gun for a few stated purposes, which include self-defense, sports, or hunting.[10] In addition, purchasers must pay fees associated with gun ownership. These fees can run up to $1,069, a large amount for most people in a country with a GDP per capita of $7,000.[11]
Experts in Thailand cite several causes for the widespread gun problem in the country. One cause they cite is the government’s gun welfare program, which provides subsidies for gun purchases.[12] Experts also cite Thailand’s “militarized culture” of undue admiration for the military and law enforcement. Another cause of Thailand’s gun problem, as stated by one gun violence researcher, is that the “difficulty in obtaining a gun has turned the weapons into somewhat of a status symbol representing power, wealth, and privilege.”[13]
Mass shootings of this kind have the power to galvanize gun reform world-wide. While the United States and Thailand face different challenges in reducing the danger of gun violence, one solution may help in both countries: a public health approach to gun violence. While developing policy, it is important to design policies that target the realities of gun violence; mass shootings, for example, are responsible for only a small percentage of gun deaths.[14] Thus, implementing gun laws that increase gun safety, background checks, and restrict access are more likely to succeed in curbing gun violence than banning a particular weapon would. The world has an opportunity to change the culture around guns. We should take it.
Clara Abramson is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLVI.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
[1] See Yasmeen Serhan, Guns are Everywhere in Thailand. Could the Country’s Deadliest mass Shooting Change That?, Time (Oct. 6, 2022 1:52 PM), https://time.com/6220339/thailand-gun-control-massshooting/.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.; Mike Ives & Muktita Suhartono, Guns are rampant in Thailand, even if mass shootings aren’t, N.Y. Times: Thailand Mass Shooting (Oct. 6, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/world/asia/thailand-shootings-guns-firearms.html.
[9] Serhan, supra note 1.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Nicholas Kristof, How to Reduce Shootings, N.Y. Times: Opinion (May 24, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/06/opinion/how-to-reduce-shootings.html.