Perhaps the scariest two words in the English language are “do something.” In the aftermath of anything horrific, the natural tendency of many people is to demand that the government “do something,” ostensibly so the thing never happens again. The problem is that all too often, the something that they do has absolutely no chance of actually preventing another horror, but it can have longer-lasting repercussions, such as the actions by the Thai Prime Minister following last week’s school shooting.
Cam mentioned last week that the PM, as Interior Minister, had previously cracked down on guns following an incident. There, he suspended carry permits.
Now, he’s going after gun licenses.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday suspended the issuance of permits to buy firearms and said existing licences would be reviewed, days after a 14-year-old gunman killed nine people.
Mr Anutin directed Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt, who oversees legal affairs, to expedite a new gun control law, with stronger controls and significantly harsher penalties. A new bill is to be proposed within 60 days.
Police have been ordered to stop renewing permits that enable people to buy firearms. Registered firearms must be kept at home and cannot be carried in public, Mr Anutin said, reiterating the current law.
He warned people not to believe claims that guns could be carried for self-defence, saying firearms often end up harming their owners.
The cabinet on Tuesday ordered urgent and long-term measures to strengthen controls on illegal firearms and close loopholes that allow guns to reach unauthorised users.
The Interior Ministry and Royal Thai Police have been ordered to suspend renewals of Por 3, Por 4 and Por 12 licences, until the cabinet decides otherwise, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said.
Oh, there’s so much wrong with this it’s not even funny. For starters, guns can most definitely be carried for self-defense so long as the law allows it, and the idea that they often end up harming their owners is a myth, at least here in the United States. Maybe Thailand is different, but I doubt it.
What is missing from this discussion, though, is that the massacre last week wasn’t someone who just bought a gun. The killer’s grandfather had the gun previously. The killer murdered his grandparents, then went on to kill people at the school. There was no new gun purchasing taking place. The license doesn’t appear to have been set to be renewed, either.
In other words, this has nothing to do with what happened; it’s just a power grab by an anti-gun zealot sitting in the prime minister’s chair.
Sure, he might be looking at the broader issue of violence in Thailand, but it’s worth noting that Thai criminals are like many in other gun-controlled countries in that they’re more than willing to convert blank-firing pistols into actual firearms. That allows them to circumvent the gun laws with relative ease. Plus, there’s a lot of smuggling in that part of the world. You’re not going to disarm criminals.
Then, we have the cultural issues.
Ekkapop Luangprasert, founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rod, a leading volunteer group that members of the public often contact before the police, receives complaints of violence, including shootings, “almost daily”.
“I think what we’re seeing overall stems from a flawed belief embedded in Thai society – a culture that glorifies violence,” he said. “Whenever something goes wrong, Thai society has taught us that the answer is punishment.”
Old-school parenting and wider power values leave children ill-equipped to deal with anger and frustration, he said. “By the time they grow up and enter society, they end up defaulting to violence as the way to solve problems.”
Wait, you mean a generation of angry young men who think violence is the only way to deal with conflict are being violent as a means of resolving disagreements, and that might be the problem, rather than the mere existence of guns?
Shocking.
I don’t know where we might find a parallel elsewhere in the world. Certainly not in our inner cities, where an entire subculture seems to think that violence is the only answer to disagreement or disrespect.
Yet, instead of addressing that, Anutin is blaming the gun, just like inner-city politicians here in the United States.
Seriously, are these people just handed a playbook and told to follow it to the letter?
Thailand has problems. Serious problems.
Pretending that the lawful owning and carrying of guns is somehow part of it doesn’t make anything better. It does the exact opposite, and if Thailand thinks it’s having problems now, just wait until Anutin gets done.
That is, unless the people there start making their voices heard and demand their gun rights be not just acknowledged, but respected.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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